Black Poetry : Not Another Statistic (In Due Time)- dedicated to Benjamin Jones

[Legacy21]

He be B-Boy
Eastside raised
Jump rope slapping on concrete with boombox beats
Swirling in his head
Music of the urban jungle in his veins
He writes poetry on wrinkled napkins
Stained with sweat and day old hamburger grease
His sneakers scuff the streets
As he dances between the sunshine rays
Searching for a better way to live his life
He won't be another generation of Black men fallen
So he clings to the one gift he's got
Words
Words that spring from his lips like butterflies
Taking flight like fantasies
He free verses to the universe
In hopes of escaping his troubled reality
His pen bleeds tears of yesterday's heartbreak
He uses similies and metaphors like twin blades
He's the young Ghetto Sensei
His hooks be them catchy, rhythmic phrases
Jumping off the page
To the boomp-boomp-boomp-boomp beat of his heart
Blues be bled in black ink
He gives himself to the moment
Muse melancholy
When she just don't love him no more
Leaving him lonely, lingering on ledges
Where he stands inside himself
Solitary
Suffering a winter time solitude in silence
Yet his smile be warm and easy like summer breezes
No man can be an island
He strives for affected distance
But say his name in a teasing tone
& his eyes will shine like melted chocolate drops
Face illuminated with wide grins in moments of foolishness
I can see the boy child inside of him
I call him Ben-Ben
Shifting moods manifests him as Son of Ra
Beautifully arresting when caught in deep thought
He is the Golden Child of Ancient Scribes
Muse mystic manipulating the elements of time
Combined consciousness with rhyme
He creates with every breath and blink of his eyes
He magnetizes minds
Captivates hearts
He is loved
He is hated
He is cherished
He is rejected
He is every hope and dream of ancestors who spilled their blood in the dust
Just that he might exist
He is the liquid fire searing inside the veins of change
He is destined to be more than he imagined, greater than we dared to believe
Yet so human, so fragile, so vulnerable, so imperfect
But not another statistic
No, this brother will not be barred for life
Will not be scarred for life
Will not be another dream deferred
Will not be another waste of seed planted in this bitter Earth
With love, truth, wisdom, and guidance to fertilize his spirit and mind
He shall rise in due time
In due time
In due time.......

 

[$$RICH$$]

indeed in due time ..........ya pen is awesome sista

 

[PurpleMoons]

beautiful dedication to BEN. absolutely beautiful

 

[Royal_T]

Yes indeed. PurpleMoons couldn't have said it better. This was raw. I loved the way you put it together, I think I read it just like you wanted it to be read. I could feel the rhythm and that says a lot because I always read things the way I would write it, but I didn't get that this time.

 

[Legacy21]

Thank you for the kind comments, but I must thank Brother BEN for the inspiration......