In My Neighborhood

In my neighborhood there are no street lights
Broken out due to neighborhood gun fights

Shell casings and dirty needles everywhere I step

Drugs hidden in the bed where my brother and I slept

Hand me down clothes, hell I was glad I got 'em

Wasn't nothing new coming in, so I would have been naked without 'em

Pop whipped me one time cause I wouldn't call him dad

Guess I embarrassed him in front of all the women that he had

But I understood his dilemma, still I wouldn't give in

Cause there were to many men acting as my mother's friend

Only to act like he did and leave us broke and hurt in the end.  

In my neighborhood only the strong survive

There was no cushion only pushing in order for us to stay alive

There were gangs on one corner, Pimps, hoes, and drugs on the other

So I went one way and to the other corner went my brother

We found what we thought was love on them corners

In most things that weren't right

But remember in my neighborhood

THERE WERE NO STREET LIGHTS!

©2008 Thomas L. White III

Changing Times

Every time I go home it seems another friend is dead
Broken dreams, drugs, abuse, or gunshots to the head
But remember when we were kids, so young and care free
When we were superman, batman, and karate man like Bruce Lee
Back when we had to be in the house at a certain time
And the cute girl with all the candy checked the block saying
"She'd Be Mine"

Remember when the principal's paddle guarded the golden rule
And we were sent down to his office for acting a damn fool
And he would reiterate on our backside why we were really in school
Then we'd dry our eyes before returning to class so the candy girl
Thought we were still cool!
It was a time when possibilities seemed endless like the desert sand
And a brighter future was a black boy's only plan
Yet childhood memories fade and you become a man
Surrounded by all the negativity in the Devils wasteland
But I look back on those times when I really want to smile
I mean when I really need some peace, I look through the eyes of a child
So let your child be a child for when it's over that they'll surely miss
Because once they reach adulthood life offers no more promises!

©2006 Thomas L. White III