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LISTEN WITH YOUR EYES

The poet tree of StrainjBy Strainj

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Strainj
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4634-3065-8

Contents

MY HOOD IS SO NOISY..................................................oneDEAR SELF............................................................fourWANTS THAT FEEL LIKE NEEDS...........................................sixTHE WORLDS GREATEST COSTUME PARTY....................................eightUS AND AIDS..........................................................tenYOUR BEST FRIEND.....................................................twelveTHEY'RE LOOKING, THEY'RE LISTENING...................................fourteenTHE DOOR.............................................................seventeenDO I LOVE GOD........................................................nineteenGIVE.................................................................twentyUNWELCOMELY TOUCHED..................................................twenty threeTHE LIFE OF A CERTIN RAIN DROP.......................................twenty fiveALL THE NEVERS.......................................................twenty sevenTHINGS I DO AND DON'T HAVE...........................................thirtyTHE RELIGION OF MONEY................................................thirty threeWATCH YAH MOUTH, THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK..............................thirty sixTHE BOOK OF LIFE.....................................................fortyA REMINDER CALLED CHILDREN...........................................forty twoTHE DAY THE SKY TALKED AND I LISTENED................................forty fourA BIRTHDAY POEM......................................................forty sevenLEARNING TO WALK ON WATER............................................forty eightTHE RACE THAT NOBODY WINS............................................fifty oneTHOSE 3 WORDS........................................................fifty sixI WONDER.............................................................fifty sevenTHE LONG OVERDUE FATHER AND SON TALK.................................fifty nineSTAR CHILD...........................................................sixty threeLIAR, LIAR SOUL ON FIRE..............................................sixty fiveMISS CIGARETTES......................................................sixty sevenI AM A POET..........................................................seventyWILL YOU MARRY ME (THE PROPOSAL).....................................seventy twoCOME INSIDE..........................................................seventy threeFROM EARTH, TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN...................................seventy fourDAMNA SLAM...........................................................seventy eightDRESS CODE...........................................................eightyABDUCTED BY ALIENS...................................................eighty threeBEAUTIFULLY UGLY.....................................................eighty nineHELPING TOMORROW TODAY...............................................ninety oneDISTRACTIONS.........................................................ninety threeFOOD FIGHT...........................................................ninety fiveCITY OF SYLLABLES....................................................ninety nineREALIZING YOU'RE A TRUE GIFT.........................................one hundred oneUNSCRATCHABLE ITCH...................................................one hundred threeJUNETEENTH?..........................................................one hundred fiveOVER SEXXXED DRIVE...................................................one hundred sevenA GOOD MAN...........................................................one hundred tenDRAMA QUEEN..........................................................one hundred twelveWHERE CAN THE ESSENCE OF A BLACK WOMAN BE FOUND?.....................one hundred fourteenLOST ANGEL LESS......................................................one hundred sixteenFINDING PERFECTION...................................................one hundred eighteenYOU AIN'T GONE BUT YOU STILL AIN'T HERE..............................one hundred twentyEMOTIONS.............................................................one hundred twenty twoCREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..........................................one hundred twenty fiveABOUT THE AUTHOR.....................................................one hundred twenty seven

Chapter One

My hood is so noisy


I've heard car horns honking, the sound of no
patience

Helicopters hovering over my house, the sound of
surveillance

I've heard a man thrown in the back of a police car,
the sound of freedom gone

A little boy talking back to his mother, the sound of
a fatherless home

I've heard ambulance sirens, the sound of an
accident

A landlords knock on the door go unanswered, the
sound of no rent

I've heard the homeless ask for food, the sound of
people in need

Two guys plotting on robbing a barber shop, the
sound of greed

I've heard high school drop outs brag on how good
they used to ball, the sound of not making it

Gun shoots letting off around the corner, the sound
of hatred

I heard my homie got his 3rd strike, the sound of a
lesson unlearned

More gun shots from around the corner the sound
of hatred returned

I've heard a man sadly tell his wife and kids there
losing the house, the sound of being laid off

A 12 year old girl saying she's pregnant, the sound
of innocence lost

I've heard some guys ditch school to smoke blunts,
the sound of time wasting

A preacher whooping and hollering in church, the
sound of interpretation

I've heard a woman in front of a motel offer sex
for money, the sound of a heart where no love has
been planted

A close friend speak on committing suicide, the
sound of life being taken for granted

I've heard local politicians address the community,
the sound of lies

Foster children abused by foster parents, the
sound of abandoned cries

I've heard kids run and Yale with happiness, the
sound of the ice cream truck hitting the block

The same crack head everyday begging for money
at the gas station, the sound of a habit that won't
stop

I've heard blacks and Mexicans fight, the sound of
two in the same boat trying to sink each other

I've heard a women weep at her son's funeral, the
sound of a childless mother

And in 92 I even heard a whole city get looted and
set to fire, the sound of a L.A. Riot

I don heard damn near everything in my hood,
except for peace and quite


DEAR SELF

(a suicide letter)


Staring in the mirror I see ...
Dear Self,
Nobody knows you better than me,
And all the things other wouldn't believe
That only came out when all the rest would leave,
And I grieve cause we one in the same,
Yet from two different worlds, it's kind of hard to explain,
And irritating like a splinter!
Cause I can't seem to forget things I ain't trying to remember,
The games I'd played my selfish ways,
Unlearned lessons from mistakes I made,
The family I used! The friends I abused!
Dear Self, what's to come of us two?
Cause all I see is a lifetime full of scars,
Man! How did I let you take me this far?
We're a walking contradiction,
Dear Self, you keep my mind slipping,
And lately I've been feeling so ashamed of...