To be a man
is to accept the duty of a man.
It’s an unpaid occupation with benefits
like respect, leadership, & maturity.
Some are obliged to the job
others follow the trendline
Taking the position as an adolescence
the way samba did
seems like a punishment,
but its a life lesson.
It’s a premium to be ripe
Bright and Early since it grants
liability, dignity, & tranquility
From experience a man
learns to be a man.
Able to depict his future
draw his inner circle & satellites,
create the blueprint of his dream girl, and
parley with Girls with Dem Sugar until
The Truth fits the prescription.
To be a man one needs to
Scan people like Best Buy to
see their worth
either counterfeit or authentic
Gotta be a man for himself
before being a man for others
Inaugurate an infrastructure enough for him
and Fab Five
The starter of the family
generating petroleum for the tribe
To be a man
he must
Hug his losess
Salute the errors
sponge all mistakes made
to avoid reruns.
Thru people’s collapses,
transcripts are saved and analyzed
Shoving what’s RIGHT from wrong
Induce a recycling system to being a better man
Learning early, makes life yoga
The ability to flex his knowledge to his peers
Strength to dodge ill-vibration
colliding with so many observations
Its safe to say He is a man.

Thick gold hoops and fingers waves
Block parties and rap battles
Were what I knew
I wore bright colored jumpers
And answered to guys who called
“Yo ma, lemme talk to you for a minute”
Licking their lips like LL Cool J
With the mellowed stance of Snoop Dog
Talked to guys with gold teeth,
And rings that spelled their names over three fingers
I remember Friday nights
I’d just got paid
And had a basement party to attend
Those crowded parties
Vibrated by a bass from stacked speakers
And turntables where stars were discovered
Those crowded parties
Where we could all escape from reality
For at least one night
I danced to Slick Rick
Bounced to the rhythms of that Old Dirty Bastard
Grinded to the slow jams of Bell Biv Devoe
And supported all the brothers
Who promised to rock up on that mic
And rock the mic right
I was in dark clubs
When bullets were sprayed
I was in my room
When lead death came through the windows
My projects was a tomb
With no way out but in a pine chariot
I didn’t listen when Lauryn cried
“Girl you better watch out.
Some guys are only about that thing”
I looked to love to be my way out
Swayed by the lies and the sweet voices of Boys II Men
I listened to them when they promised me the world
Knowing they only had one block
I thought I knew passion
Believed I’d found and lost love
Listened to Mary J who promised to mend my heart
Swore I wasn’t gon cry
Shed no tears
I joined the line of single black mothers
Waiting for their baby’s father to come around
I joined in the chorus of
“It’s so hard to say goodbye…”
For friends, taken by a three letters
I joined the rare few who vowed to go on
Never bowing to the street medicine
That promised to make the pain go away
Those who denied an early grave
Those who denied defeat
I shed myself of the
Thick gold hoops, fingers waves
The bright colored jumpers
I left those men with their gold
Who played Boys II Men
Those false romantics
Who promised me the world
But could only offer me this tomb
Those men of false promises
I removed myself from
The block parties and rap battles
The dark clubs and the world I knew
I wanted to know more

When you say those people,
Do you mean that we are all from the Motherland,
Black, White, Spanish, there’s no racial divide,
Or do you break it down, putting us on separate sides?
When you say those people,
Do you mean the color of my skin,
The fact that I’m black, disregarding what’s within.
Putting all of us together, Haitians, Jamaicans, Dominicans, or
Even worse saying Africans when in fact if you look;
There are Ethiopians, Nigerians, Ghanaians, Senegalese and even more of them?
When you say those people,
Do you break it down even more, only classifying me as Canadian?
I see you- forgetting that I’m also Haitian.
I can see why you’re confused because
I was once confused myself;
Always saying Canadian-Haitian instead of Haitian-Canadian.
Maybe you forgot the second part or maybe
It’s the same reason why some African- Americans
Can’t seem to accept that we are all African descent.
When you say those people,
What exactly do you mean?
It’s funny-
Because those people are my people.
Just like those people are your people.
So who am I?
I am a proud Haitian, because I can say-
My people survived one of the biggest earthquakes in history.
I am a proud Haitian, because I can say-
My people are the first slave nation to gain its independence.
I am a proud Haitian, because I can say-
My people share an island with our Dominican brothers and sisters.
I am a proud Haitian, because I can say-
My people are the most superstitious people and I love it.
I am proud African, because I can say-
My people survived slavery.
Last but not least,
I am from the motherland, because I can say-
RACE IS NOT SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN.
{Human Gene Project state that we are 99.9% alike}**

Haiti’s independence was 5 Star quality,
De Esclaves shook up the dominoes
Matching each for every victory until
The mission became history.
L’Union was Bo Flex Strong
De Government relax and pose
As time climbs,
Business plus Power became the equation.
A great aura of struggle diffuses thru the nation which
Accommodates violence & greed amongst Haitians
The Union is Divorced.
The board line between the Bourgeois and Poor are miles apart,
Bourgeois prefer gated houses
While the Poor reside in a shanty houses
The Union is forever lost.
The 12 of January 2010 was the rebirth of Haiti.
Haiti’s founding fathers pounded
Their gavels on Ayiti(Haiti) Cherie for unity.
By any means necessary L’Union Fait La Force
Will reunite in Haitians.
The thrashing will only cease
Once the Union is realized
Many are inebriated from quake
All are emotional like Carl Thomas.
Haitians gather in circles like an orchestral
Inhaling 3D’s: Death, Destruction & Desperation.
Haiti is again an infant.
As days push forward
The island blossoms and matures but
Each grain must cater to each grain,
Because the thrashing will only cease
Once the Union is realized.

A pool of tears locked in the center
Feelings of blackness surrounding the air
The sky is dark and the grass is wet
No one sees where the path starts or ends
No one sees one another standing in front or behind
We are blinded by the shadows we have made
No matches left to light the way

To know love with every core
Is know the sun with every ray
To know love is to know god
And to know the light of day

My love is like the river
Never steady and always flowing
My love is like the wind
Traveling near and far, blowing

Love is as boundless as the sea
Never weary and always deep
As my devotion grows strong
For you, I would make the leap

Oh starry night above
In my dreams, I am invoked
In my breath, I am consoled
In my soul, I am provoked

For a love to last eternity
For a love to embrace
For a love to die
Oh to fall to grace

My love will not falter
My love will not stray
My love is boundless
My love is here to stay

Swinging
Swinging high
Feeling the wind in your hair
There’s no greater feeling
Ahhh! The air is crisp
And the world is still
As you keep swinging
Feels as if you could touch the sky
Yet you never quite make it
For you’re not quite high enough
Keep swinging
Higher, higher
Never going anywhere
Still stuck
Trying to reach but falling down
Out of breath
Out of strength
Can hardly move anymore
Yet still trying to get higher
Then suddenly, you’ve achieved peace
At last, you’ve made it

Therein lies the skin of man

Skin of the light
Skin of the dark
Skin of the protector
Skin of the protected

Therein lies the blood of man

Blood of a good man
Blood of an evil man
Blood of the creator
Blood of the created

Therein lies the heart of man

Heart of the good deeds
Heart of the evildoer
Heart of the lover
Heart of the loved

Therein lies the soul of man

Soul of the life
Soul of the dead
Soul of the giver
Soul of the gifted

Therein lies man

The reflection on the mirror
Shows a shattered vision
Of lies and deception
How do we run from it all?
It shows a black face
A face of evil
I can’t understand what it’s saying
A night of passion and desires
Shows the blackness within
The beast shows his face
For the world to see
A monster is among us all
Lurking beneath the shadows
We fear it
We despise it
We loathe it
For it is the worst evil that exists
It kills those that stand in its way
It destroys anything in its path
It corrupts the minds of the young and old
Who is it?
It is invisible
No one can see it
It doesn’t have a real name
It is named by false dreams and hopes
It is the image that we fear
You can’t destroy it
It lives forever
It lives in the heart of mankind
Guess what it is
Pride

I’m the one you go to when you fall
I’m the one you go to when you give up on life
I’m the one you go to when you’ve given up all hope

I hold up the broken pieces
And try to put them back together
I try to cure the desolation you are feeling

I’m always standing here static
I never yield and I never leave
Because I’m the only one who you can always count on

The affiliation we share is nothing short of a miracle
It binds us to one another
So I feel what you feel and you feel what I feel

I’m the one you go to when you feel alone
I’m the one you go to when there’s nothing left at home
I’m the one you go to when you need a friendly face
I’m the one