Young Minds

Question: What do you see when you look at me?
Because I already know you've got your mind made up.
You've made a decision to judge me off your notions.
And you justify them by saying we're reckless and act criminal.
See, this is where you've got it messed up
Cause you don't even know the half of it.
Just because we are young and courageous
You say what's wrong with them and think we're going to commit violent acts
See, that thinking has got you scared of your own sons and daughters
So, I write to say unto you don't judge
Don't judge a book by it's cover; Ask me.
Ask me what we're really like because we ARE young;
Young and courageous cause we've been told we are misunderstood.
Isn't it interesting that you were told the same thing at your age?
It's quite obvious that some take the hypocritical road.
You need to be remembered that we come from you
So, don't look at me like a thug or a criminal.
I'm not misunderstood, I'm just trying to make it out here.
And hoping that you give me that chance.

I Wanna Write

I wanna write a poem that'll make Bobby Sands say "Damn"
And make Langston Hughes shake in his boots.
All I need is a pen and a pad and I'll write words that make you think
That Walt Whitman ain't got shit on me.
I wanna write something that'll really bring Pac come back from the dead
And say "did you hear what that youngin just said?"
I wanna master the artform like Sonia Sanchez or Nikki Giovanni
Like some scholarly shit that you heard in the 70s.
I wanna write a psalm like the holy ones back in Bible times
But make my lines have meaning
I want my words to be heard from Sarajevo to Soweto, Atlanta to Sri Lanka
I wanna go worldwide with my poems
Change minds with em, strike down the stereotypes with em
Make cats think before they judge us or put words in our mouths
Give young people a voice that they thought they never had Challenge em to do something better, giving up their rebellious ways
But he only problem is I haven't written it yet