this tree

that tree is the same tree you obey

that tree is the same tree you decay yourself for

you are the slave to the money that you

bleed

breathe

and break your back

everyday of your life

that tree is the history

my forefathers rested on

yet that tree is the strife

the end of a colored life

that my forefathers hung from

that tree is family

a connection

a church

a distant praise to the lord above

its a beautiful disastrous confusion of creation

this tree is our respriration

this tree is death

it grows with our pain

it grows with our tear along with the rain

growth from the beautiful risk taking

quiver of a trumpet

the beautiful song that wrapped around the bark

that permanetly has keep their mark

without this tree the blessings wouldnt prevailed

without this tree the books would be empty with

no story to tell

without that tree there be no history

i wouldnt appreciate my kinky naps

that the women before me had to deal with

that damn hot comb

that sizzles close to that scalp

just so our hair could look one half step closer

to a european

i wouldnt comprehend

that tree is the road to

freedom then to freedom

of breaking away from

one chain to one chain

the same chains that reigned

around the ankles of my ancestors

coming to the land of the free....

oh how sweet the sound

that this is tree is still here

to watch the constant

destruction

seduction

of hate, ignorance and obstruction

this tree is love

music

peace

a story

a journey to the glory

with each leaf as the

beginning of the beautiful story...