IThey play the game, but we are not puppets. Tire marks on the streets fresh like vegetables, but not for profit. They make a move but we are not pawns. Their checkered past, this game shall not last. They throw dirt on us unaware that we have already planted the seeds. Rows upon rows we stand together. Tears water as the roots grow deeper. Reaching for the sky, sweat mist the leaves, but it’s no mystery that as our hard work not only breaks ground but the evidence is all around us. I pray this knife not run with blood, like a fresh coat of paint that stains the asphalt. Cooked from the suns heat and frozen to the ground from winter’s grip. Layer upon layers blanket one another like winter’s snow. Calm and quiet as the glow is isn’t from a fire. Red and blue like day and night. The moon phases out as clouds roll in. Sounds of sirens drown out the birds in the trees. Animals in nature have their mating calls, Quebec has screeches and crunch day and night straight through lunch. The occasional honk in F# rings like a doorbell, but what comes knocking doesn’t have to be seen. You can’t finish a sentence or start a task when every second counts . Rush hour is twenty-four seven and never takes a holiday. Never clocking out even as the seasons change.
IIThe desire for safety never expires. The passion heats up and spreads like wildfire. Creating it’s own weather system like a steering committee. Hearts hurt and heart breaks knowing just how much is at stake. Empty plates and empty promises as the seats are full in a standing room only scenario. Shots fired like a shooting star. The flash mimics lightning. The bang that fallows shakes more than the earth. This is what it’s like when worlds collide. This is what it’s like when lives are change in an instant and occasionally that heart that once beat like the seconds on a clock stops. Another mark on the street, another line on the wall. Another day crossed off as another life is lost. No place on a map marks the spot. The only thing crossed is that line.
Some people go to a bar to drink, me nope, I spit these bars to get you to think. If only you knew what the past has to say. If only you could understand that I am not here to play. You’ve treated me like a pawn, maybe one day it will dawn on you how I got this mud on my shoes. Sleepless nights don’t put up a fight. I’ve been doing this alone, you damn well know that I’m coming for that throne! Several meetings over the years and you’ve done nothing but left families in tears. You cheer for your peers but not for the people. The ones that voted, but not for the way you treat them. You cheer for what you believe is right, not truly understanding the fight. The tempatures continues to drop but these words are just heating up, as the meaning only grows deeper like the roots of our community. You’ve thrown dirt on the name and then done nothing but blame, it’s a shame. You know that you can’t take the heat and not just in the kitchen as your plans are nothing but a recipe for disaster. This isn’t a happily ever after. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, you act like you aren’t a sinner. You believe you are a saint, but we as a community no you sure as hell ain’t. Constantly changing colors when you paint over your mistakes we still see the damage done. Changing your stance and flipping your views. We truly know what it is that you really choose. I’ve been in several positions over the years and have even suited up to prove that I mean business. It was quite the trip as all you wanted to do was flip the script. I’m here to tell you that this isn’t a movie so why didn’t you include me? Here you are playing dirty once again, looking at me like I’m your enemy and not a friend. I can ask over and over and all you’ve done day and night is prove me right. It’s almost fall and what I have to say, this isn’t all of it, you know that you are truly in some deep shit. This isn’t even close to being it. You see it was supposed to be a simple walk in the park, but just like the night, it has turned dark. The sun has set and everything you’ve done and said has been without regrets. What good is amenities if the number of excuses you have is infinity?
Cutting grass and cutting corners, but never on the cutting edge. Pushing people over ledge, you can’t clean up this mess with any pledge. Wiping away the past, your time in office won’t last. Always putting the cart before the horse, even after people leave in a hearse. Here I am spitting another verse like a three course meal, it’s just the icing on the cake. Never giving, but always taking. Not just lives lost in a sea of lies. Hearts sunk like a ship in the storm. Hearts heavy and not from gravity. The sugar to construct the cavity. This is your reality. Your checks bounced like your promises. You say that you come in peace, but constantly leave nothing but pieces. Spending time just to make a profit. Spending resources and never sending them to where they are needed. Throwing a bone, you feel like you’ve succeeded. Do you understand why so many have bled yet? Do you feel any regrets yet? Do you feel any remorse form these three courses? Class is still in session. Are you ready yet for your lesson? The trail your running on isn’t paved just like what little sidewalks there are. Pedestrians hit by cars. All you do is lower the bar. These streets are lined with scars. Do you really know how many people you’ve sent to an early grave?
You paint yourselves as a hero in the story, but the amount of effort you’ve put in is absolute zero. This isn’t for the fame or glory. I’m here to tell you these people’s story. Once again you are trying to humor me, nothing you say or do is new to me. You don’t treat these people well, does any of this ring a bell? You talk but it never ends well. All of these years we look back on, and the only thing you’ve done is turn your back on us. Metal and plastic broken like dreams, it’s a constant reminder of all the screams. What lay in the street underneath your feet is solid ground, just look around and what do you really see? Not the birds and the bees or the leaves falling off the tree. The indentations in the grass but not from feet, but tires. The marks in the dirt and mud solidify like a fossil. It didn’t take long for this to get old. Rules and regulations, you denied without hesitation. Talking a vacation somewhere warm while we remained shown the cold shoulder.
IIINow these words may come off as angerly, but it’s what you’ve done to me, my community, my family. You vote for profit over people, you see dollar signs but never make sense. You put up gates and a fence to keep us down and out, how loud must we really shout? It’s not my birthday, so this should come as no surprise just how much you have starved the people, the community. Oh let me count the ways you’ve tried to ruin this community. Dropping the microphone, you hurry up to pick up the phone. Calling for back up, thinking you know how the cards are stacked up. Pulling the rug out from under us, pulling cards and the joker shows up. Oh wait that’s your business card! You act hard and tuff, but the ground you stand on is soft and we’ve had enough. You’re picking up the phone, be we are the ones calling your bluff. Ring ring, will you answer this call? Ring ring, will you take the stand? The power is in your hands. Your efforts are blan with no flavor. You sure ain’t no savior. You push buttons on the phone, and type emails with your fingers. Only two things have come from that, pointing fingers every which way, and raising your middle finger but not your standards. Putting my hands in the dirt, double checking my work. Clocked in one-way. Never clocking out, knocking this out of the park like a home run. I’m covering all the bases. Grab some popcorn, because this movie is just getting started. No stunt double, but getting those double takes. Knowing that lives are at stake, I have a lot on my plate and I’ve come hungry. Never satisfied, no matter how many times you’ve lied.
IVI’m not buying what your selling no matter how cheaply you make it. A lemon so sour, the long hand strikes another hour. Midnight, a new day same excuse. Nobody excused you from the table, where are your manners? You still have issues to address on your plate. Pushing the envelope, needs your stamp of approval. Your idea of cleaning up is just sweeping the issues under the rug. Papers collecting dust like a trophy. You’re gonna need another shelf. I’m not doing this for fame or fortune. Just to leave a legacy, I know you’re gonna have to remember me. You’re gonna need sunglasses because the future is looking bright. The wheels have stopped turning but the vehicles don’t. The friction of the rubber against the asphalt heats up as the wheels lock up. The wheels have stopped turning but the vehicles haven’t stopped moving. Pushed further ahead and farther away. This all seems like a nightmare that can only be dreampt up. Sadly it’s one of many times where people don’t wake up. You hear the sirens off in the distance carried by the gentle breeze, you pray that as the siren gets louder and closer that it doesn’t stop like the Doppler effect. None of this is on your radar or on your list of things to do. Another page is turned and another day on the calendar crossed off, you’ve treated this like steam and think that you can blow all of this off. Under pressure your will to change takes no effect. We don’t have stunt doubles or fallow a script, so why do you continue to lie and give us nothing but bullshit? You’ve treated all this like it’s a game for show, but in reality you are the contestant and we are the host didn’t you know? We are the ones asking questions looking for answers. All you’ve responded with is pointed fingers and silence as we the community suffer from more violence. When will it end? When will you tend to the wounds you’ve helped create? Screeches come to an abrupt stop like a sentence cutoff. People’s lives aren’t the only thing wrecked, as once again you sign another check. The list continues to grow as another season takes over. Tears have shed, blood has bled, just how many more have to end up dead? Early mornings and late nights don’t exist as it all feels the same. All you do is point fingers and pass the blame. Do you stand with your peers or do you stand for the people? Where the only thing deployed are airbags and not resources.
