Blue Devil
​
Boxed in on all sides nowhere to run or to turn to
I box concrete walls until my hands turn blue
broken and swollen knuckles
skin torn and chapped
I find freedom in syntax that seeps through the cracks
in the walls
to reach them cats still on the outside
how many years have I been on the inside
I lost count
days become nights, weeks become years
planets revolve around the sun
I'm still stuck inside here
evolved into an animal
forgot what the world looked like.
Push-ups and sit-ups prepare me for fist fights
they move me through the prison population
cuffs fit my wrist tight
I'm at my wits end because my bid is life.
Can you imagine being locked in a cage
for the rest of your days plus some?
I'm surrounded by shadows and dark thoughts
of making my heart stop
with bad habits and odd customs.
Try to hang myself when the doors are locked
to make it stop
but more of us get locked up everyday
over 2 million and counting
from a bird's eye view I have flashbacks of old days
how they carried us away from our homes shackled in chains
deja vu because modern day prisoners are slaves.
Check your constitution I ain't the first one to say it
the prison industry is the new slave ship, slave ship.
Innocence a commodity that's bought and sold
but oddly escapes the possession of my black body
I manifest Rodney King dreams
when I hear license and registration
because reaching for my ID could be
justification for my homicide
the wrong color at the wrong time
you a fool if you believe justice is colorblind.
In the belly of the beast on streets I stand
with hands cuffed behind my back
and get beat with black wood objects
in Oklahoma City
or smashed on hoods of squad cars in Inglewood projects
already walking with chains around my neck
they just ain't found a crime to convict me of yet
but as I speak they framing crime scenes to confine me
so what I'm rhyming about be pertinent
because police interaction be beyond permanent.
Pigs becoming judge, jury, and executioner
majority of pigs are white
and this is why some might compare white folks to Lucifer.
For many this life be a living hell
so we rebel in these streets
screaming and yelling
product of environment so therefore I'm a son of rebellion.