Show More Teeth (2014)

It seems as though we can write a million and one poems

About the crippling effects of police brutality,

But it still changes nothing about the stark reality,

That if you have a natural tan your ass is banned

From having real justice,

So bust this…

Label this a protest poem or sing-a-long for all I care,

Another Black teen expired,

No bullets were spared,

I heard they were hiring cop killers down at the square,

Not fair to target the whole police force you say,

Tell that to the race of people that get targeted every day,

Over the decades our words and actions have swayed

Your demonic ways,

But apparently it is still too slow a pace

To stop us from filling these graves at an early age,

Wouldn’t it be tragic if we just bust back and sprayed,

Held court in the streets,

Instead of these biased, bogus, race baiting media leaks,

Give yall a reason to speak,

You hate me anyway,

I can see through your invisible sheets,

Let’s put it all out in the open,

Play the race cards, uncle toms, bigots, and tokens,

Fuck your pathetic slogans,

As you raise money for these murderers at the roasting,

Toasting as you solve your champagne problems,

I ought to take these Molotov cocktails and lob them

At your face,

A racist is human waste,

Hate can destroy us all without a trace,

Love is silent at this time, too hell-bent on revenge,

You cowards can give in,

It’s nothing to murder you with bullets or the pen,

The fingers type, thoughts assemble, the barrel spins,

Another culprit has more Black parents explaining to our kids

The hardships they face because of the color of their skin,

The wicked ways of men,

Born to sin,

Maybe God will forgive you in the end,

But for now these could be the last flames I write,

An evolutionary, revolutionary with good aims despite

The atrocious hand we’ve been dealt,

I’m forced to grow up or else,

I was taught to avoid prison because it’s bad for my health,

Even when I “show more teeth,”

I’m made to feel ashamed of myself,

You can choke me to death or hang me in a cell,

If you want to “take it there,”

Then there is enough room for all of us in hell,

I’ll explain my story when I see my maker,

Nothing faker than these backstabbing hand shakers,

Who’d sooner throw you in a lake,

Than see you elevate,

You say we perpetuate myths,

But the cots were full of syphilis patients

Railroaded with visions of bliss,

Black Wall street was devastated,

And the miseries of slavery can never be overstated,

Our heritage is slighted rather than celebrated,

The minute a Blackman was elected president,

Out came the racist,

As blatant as ever,

You say “I’m different” because I’m clever,

Again, insulting me with your tongue,

“Oh, he speaks proper, so him we wouldn’t have hung?”

Education on all fronts can solve a lot of our ills,

But still,

Too much blood has already been spilled,

The streets are filled with rage,

I couldn’t do that shit justice by what I say on this page,

Could I further darken my age by grabbing a 12-gauge

And going out like a savage,

I refuse to sit back while our minds are ravaged,

Non-violence is my nature

But all I see is visions of you living lavish,

While too many of us struggle in silence,

But two wrongs don’t make a right,

Yeah,

But you’ve never experienced the Blackman’s plight,

Be me for one night,

Make a wrong turn in Jasper perhaps,

And you wonder why we want to see Casper get capped,

I can run laps around you mentally,

But you could murder me and avoid the penitentiary,

As you fill your coffers endlessly,

I’m written off as if life never mentioned me,

“just another nigger dead,”

Off with his head, splendidly,

If Jesus came back today

He’d hang with the fallen, the rebels, the underdogs,

Yet you racists are so high and mighty,

Just wait until the thunder calls,

You bury us under laws,

As a kid I once daydreamed about creating a time machine

So I could go back in time and bury every one of yall,

But I thought nah,

Too many people I love wouldn’t be here today,

We come in so many shades,

Who knows where…never mind,

Instead of shooting up stop signs,

I chose to use my mind,

Beware of the death, dumb, and blind,

Because even though we are standing in line to protest,

It is my own kind that kills me the most when the sun sets, 

We’ve come a long ways since the 60’s,

But don’t go whistling Dixie after you’ve pricked me

With diseases that are sickly,

Mentally or physically

You continue to pick my people apart,

It is like the destruction of the Blackman is a college elective,

A major, or an art,

You still not ready to spark?

I got it,

You hate me because I’m dark,

Bingo!

I like to say we’ve just arrived at the race track,

But some of us don’t even know when the race starts,

Some folks still say, “stay Black,”

Yet it is you who continue to rip our race apart,

I’m trying to focus on the bigotry that stands before me,

I don’t need my own people ignoring me,

The media bores me

With their tired ass portrayal of the Blackman,

Whitewash our history,

Not realizing that when they do that,

They really attack man,

Everything began and will end with us,

Trust,

Everything came from darkness,

“c’mon dog, you still not ready to spark it?”

Not even when we are being harassed for just going to the market,

We are obvious targets,

That reality is sadly accepted,

As your head nods to the beat like an epileptic,

Remain a healthy skeptic

Because it may save your life,

My man over there only wanted to go home to his wife,

But the cops left the remains of his brains

All over his British Knights,

An old crime from the 80’s,

Some of you act like this is just how things have been lately,

Because the newsrooms now cover it,

Yet hip-hop has been shoving it

In our ears for years,

Nothing to see here,

Just the continuation of the brutality

We’ve faced since we first arrived here,

Not surprised at all by the legal system continuing to disappoint us,

Are you?

He sold 6 million albums, whippy-doo,

That man’s brains were still on his shoes (get a clue),

And the bastard that killed him still lives under his roof,

Never did a lick of time,

How many times has swine

Gotten away with the same tired crimes,

Blackman unarmed, shot to death!

Black teen unarmed, shot to death!

I’m tired man, I’m so fucking tired….

But I must continue on,

Because we are still being hunted down,

Then they want to give us the runaround

As various verbs and nouns are used to explain why another clown

Gets to hang around or skip town (do as he pleases)

After firing more murderous rounds

Into the frame of yet another unarmed Blackman,

Can you imagine your child being gunned down where he stands,

That lady over there can,

Yet another funeral to attend,

Your kid’s biggest issues are homework and the homecoming dance,

While his kid never had that chance,

As he was suspect number one in advance

Of any crime being committed,

All over his life you shitted,

Because his life was worthless,

You shot him on site on purpose,

Some of you do it because you are overzealous or nervous,

Choosing the worst outcome,

Because death is something that you can’t come back from,

But you don’t care,

You’ll just go home, have your steak medium rare,

While parents all over the country must live the nightmare,

You still scared?

Why?

Because I have anger in my stare?

A miracle I haven’t flipped my lid by now,

It is not natural for a parent to bury their child,

No way, no how,

But those rounds just keep on coming,

Mind-numbing,

How even when videotaped, the legal system does nothing,

I wrote, “Not Guilty,” in about 15 minutes,

Because in my dimension,

Writing poems is how I defend the defenseless,

Yes, creating epics is how Popeye eats his spinach,

And lately more harsher subject areas have been mentioned,

Somebody tell me where the stench went?

All those dead and mutilated bodies,

Because killing Blacks is still a full-time hobby,

Or agenda if you will,

Another bigoted policeman is thrilled,

As he cuts down another darkie,

And gets off on some legal malarkey,

You continue to justify your actions,

And form these crooked factions,

I’m merely walking in the store,

What the hell are you all in my face for,

Acting like you’re trying to start some type of race war,

I’m sick of you killing our future college graduates,

Imagine how sad you’d get,

How mad you’d get

If you were considered an endangered species,

Treated like a bucket of feces,   

But still, I come in peace

As I “show more teeth…”