We forgot to be
family in my hood...
there was a
code unspoken, a certain way we used to act.
Or maybe it wasn't
an act at all, maybe it was just an understood fact.
The fact that
we were all put here together to take care of each other.
Mother, Father,
Sister, Brother, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin... all loving each other as one.
Not just
because you were a blood relatives but because we all lived under the same sun.
Sometimes we
shared the same DNA but sometimes that wasn't always the case.
See we simply
loved and respected each other, our elders taught us that before they left this
place.
We didn't care
who had the latest kicks or look what our neighbors had to determine what we'd
choose.
We may trade
pants and shirts, sometimes we may even
swap shoes...
And not one of
us felt like we were playing whose better game that someone had to lose.
See people were
to be loved and material things were there to be used.
And when a
neighbor needed a helping hand we'd all pitch in and do whatever we had to do.
Mothers took
care of kids, Dads provided stability, love and money for bills and food...
And the family
was there to help them see things through.
Aunts were like
big sisters and moms, uncles were like big brothers and 2nd dads that protected
you.
Then there were
the friends and other elders that lived in the hood, they scolded us and told
us things that would help you be good.
Now I see them
pray on their friends children, manipulatively
trading little girls around and encouraging the little boys to tote guns and
sell illegal goods.
I often wonder
how they can feel so good about themselves as their grandparents turn over in
graves and boxes made of wood.
We were taught
right from wrong by them, and they had high hopes of what we'd come to be.
They marched,
fought, and got beat with sticks for this freedom that we lived to see.
They went
through hell and back all for us and the future of their family.
Now we sit with
closed mouths as we watch each other destroy the essence of the black family.
We take from,
steal from, drug, manipulate, kill and rape our own.
we pay no
attention to the fact that the family we are destroying is our own.
And what will all of this behavior earn us in
return... a little hood star status, a
nice new pair of
But what do
think that will get you when our father calls our souls to return? And when you
meet back up with the ancestors, what will you tell them that you learned.
What will you
tell them became of all that they struggled to earn.
Will you even
get the chance to explain or will your soul just be sent to burn.
I'm not trying
to dog you or tell you what to do, I am saying this because I love you all
enough to tell you that the fake people won't, that this mess isn't cool.
See I remember
growing up and I remember all the silly stuff we used to do and I remember
family wasn't always who you were related to .
There was a
code of respect that wasn't said, it was just simply understood.
Family took
care of family and your family was also your hood.
