It’s the blood that tells.
Yelling the secrets others dare not dispel
of defeated black women and their silent tears
and strong black men bound by their fears.
Ours is the story of their powerful rise.
Out of the darkness into the sunshine.
It’s the legacy of their high-held heads
that cradle us from their eternal beds.
And if they could see us what would they say?
Would they rejoice together or sink in dismay
at the way we lost ourselves in the world
of rap star boys and video girls?
Never taking a second look
at their hard lives and the struggles they took.
Of the things they lost so that we could gain
and now we too are giving them pain.
Wake up people and open your mind’s eye
because time has grown wings and is starting to fly.
Either you’ll lead your life or follow someone else through.
The choice is up to only you.