If I saw Cornel West on the street today...

Yo Cornel, Got a second
Try-na settle a debate
Tween my mind and my camera
And the future of my fate

I lost myself at Church
You made me feel so proud
With my son in my arms
You-sure-can motivate a crowd

And here we are now
On this LAZY street
On a LAZY day
With this LAZY beat

Now, Chicago ain't bad
And neither is my life
Neither is my job
And I really dig my wife

But the purpose I propose
Is about proposing purpose
And how to do it well
While waiting, shit, hell

I'm not saying what I mean
When what I mean to say
Is thank you for your words
And thank you for the way

That you pave a righteous road
For those less fortunate
And highlight the path
Of those who choose to walk it

But hold up, for you go-
I have to ask real quick
Let my lick my lip
And organize my words

...

How do I change the world?

PLAY KID PLAY

Play kid play

This is your chance
Let it all go
Smile towards the sky
Ignore the word no

Fly thru the leaves
Swim thru the sand
Dance on a bench
Roll the rain in your hand

Play kid play

Do what you do
Be you near and far
Invent yourself a friend
Forget you where you are

Happy is your presence
The beauty that is nature
We neglect the past
As you promise us a future

Play kid play

For none of us can see
What live you every moment
Jealous are our souls
Wheth-or not we know it

We your mere protectors
Our time for you we'll give
Keeping you alive
As you teach us how to live

Play kid play

You have all lifes answers
As we have little few
Everything you'll need
Lives just inside of you

So ignore you all's been said
And what later they will say
Just promise that you'll run
And roll and laugh and play

Just say please that you'll play
And play and play...

And play

Children...

What if we listened to them

What if we followed them

What if they were the teachers

The facilitators

The tour guides

What if they lead the way

What if their heartbeats were our soundtrack

Their smiles were our paychecks

And their games our entertainment

What if their imaginations were our architects

Their songs our laws

And their dreams were our future

What if we lived in a world where the roads were drawn with crayons

What if every park was an abstract paper mache masterpiece

What if we could go out to dinner

With paint on our faces and sand between our toes

What if every mall was replaced by a hands-on science experiment

What if snack time was our happy hour

And bedtime was a safe time

To go get ice cream

What if we never lost that innocence

What if honesty didn’t fade into an option

What if best-friend-forever-handshakes

Made in a tree house with spit between the fingers

Could actually last forever

What if love wasn’t a silent practice

What if we could say what we felt

The moment we felt it

What if we could all hold hands

And never let go

What if we never said no

What if we could run and swing

And dance and sing

What if we could

Live

With the spirit

Of a child

Last Week (In-6-3-3-style)

I’ve been staying up late

Park-Bench-Men

They scare me

But I won’t judge them, for

They belong

As I do

So many things are hard,

while many

More are fine

Rarely listnin to wind,

When I know

That I should

Thank you reality

For always

Speaking true

Reminding me it’s I

Who owes my

Time to you

There will always be a Park

I used to believe in flying dragons and dancing bears

Before responsibility and jobs and bills and affairs

I remember sliding across the tile in my little bare feet

Back when I didn't know things
Like
That "homeless"
Means
You actually Sleep on the street

There were cookouts and family reunions and trips out of town

When all a map did was slow me down

Cause when the car was in motion
I'd hide under the back seat

In a world surreal
Feeling everything and judging nothing

But that all happened before the news came on
Before I opened a history book
Before a girl broke my heart
Before I knew what it really was to be a part
Of this world

Things are broken here
and momma can't always fix them

It gets lonely here
And we don't always have someone

People die here

And I don't mean to be dark
So
When we go to the park

Next time we go to the park
If we go to the park
Later
If we go to the park...

Let's go to the park!
And when we go
To the park
Let's
Go

Let's remember to dance and sing and spin
And run and jump and play

Cuz at the end of the day
We are all just kids
Looking for somewhere to...

We are better people as children
Worse children as people

But there's always a park
There will always be a park

Why should I write poetry when there are so many other things; when there are Ferraris and part time jobs and mood rings?

Why should I write poetry when there are so many other things; when there are Ferraris and part time jobs and mood rings? ...

I picture myself zooming through a world
Where everyone’s words turn into rhyme
So fast their clothes and skin are a mesh of color and time
Like that kindergarten activity where you fill a bottle with multi colored dirt
Or a hyper color t-shirt

A tunnel of color like Bill and Ted
Yellow orange green and psychedelic red

And I hear their voices like little notes
On a xylophone they are quotes
That I've never know
But are more than familiar

I want a man with a boat
I want a girl with a smile

Where's my house in the burbs
With kids and a lawn
I always wanted to date a ball player
How did I get stuck with a brick layer

Does she not love me
Why'd we stop having sex
He's got a crush on my sister.
No present for my birthday

I hate the way she laughs
Why did I get married
My job is a joke
I work with Hairy, Moe, and...

... Larry
My favorite days are the drunk ones
I think my dad hates my mom

If they'd of only loved me more
If they'd a put me in student council
I coulda been an actor
I shoulda been a painter

I need to buy a new book
I love thanksgiving
The holidays could never be too long
Fuck winter

Thank god for the sun
I should start working out

Work eat drink sleep and do it all again
Is this all there is; is this what it's all about?

And no one has the answers
But we all like to dance - er smile
So we'll do it for a while

I don't understand
I can't comprehend
What did he mean when Puck said
If u pardon we will mend

I'm lost. What's the point? When does it end? Why'm I here?
We all are . To love . Different for everyone . All of the above .

So we sink or we soar
A mole or a dove
And there's no in between
But underneath the words there's always time for truth
And behind the alliteration
There's always contemplation
So when I try to address you
I mean to express to you…
My love

Why should I write poetry when there are so many other things; when there are Ferraris and part time jobs and mood rings?

If I played the fiddle

…

If I played the fiddle…

I’d be a badass

I’d play in a southern rock band

If I played the fiddle

…

If I played the fiddle

I’d carry it in a case that had patches on it from all the great places I’d been

I’d have a girlfriend named Susan and a Dog named Pierre

If I played the fiddle

…

If I played the fiddle

I’d kick out my toes like I were Irish and quick footed

I’d dance in circles and bob up and down from the waist

If I played the fiddle

…

If I played the fiddle

My friends would call me “Fiddle Tom”

Because I’d be a fiddle machine!

My parents would disown me for fiddling around

If I played the fiddle

…

If I played the fiddle

I’d only have one…

Because I’d never want to play second fiddle

I’d walk into electric blues bars like “this is what you been missing”

If I played the fiddle

…

If I played the fiddle

Fiddling would be my occupation

I'd ask folks to pay the fiddler

If I played the fiddle

…

If I played the fiddle

My hat would be schnazy and my shoes wooden

The stars would shine brighter

If I played the fiddle