Dot-to-dot
We’re all connected by gunshots.
Your brother, his cousin, my student, her friend,
He was important and we will all miss him.
I know you’re mad, but just wait-
You are still here, and you know what’s right.
You have your whole life ahead
I can’t let you forget.
You want to be a doctor
And you’re really good at soccer.
I know what ‘hood rules say,
But that will just get you locked away.
Then we would all be missing two
Of the most remarkable dudes.
I heard the shots too.
What did I do?
I hit the floor, just like you
At least, that’s what I assume.
No matter how much I don’t flinch
I still get scared when
They sound too close to my comfort
Or I can see the spark like a starburst.
I don’t know how it is
They could be so foolish
To blame this all on you
I mean really, what could you do?
You are but a child yourself
They are adults doing this mess.
Killing our economy,
Forcing you into poverty,
Then throwing out some red tape,
Just to make you hesitate
In trying to be your best.
So you start to second guess
Everything you once thought you could be.
You are doubting your dreams.
Now you don’t believe in you,
What else is there to do?
If I hadn’t been there before,
I’d be a stranger at your door.
I wouldn’t know what to say,
Thank God for all my heartache!
The political system is full of flaws,
But controls the most delicate system of them all.
We trust our children’s futures
To be guided expenditures.
“How much is each one worth?”
Sounds eerily familiar…
We don’t trust the water,
But we trust our leaders?
Even though we have evidence
And a few witnesses
We still can’t get them to see the truth.
They are the dots that connect me and you.
They take money from our schools,
While demanding me to do more.
Putting you in the middle
Of an economic war.
A battle between forces
One side unheard-
The other side bullying
Whenever they have a turn.
We give them an opportunity
To be forthright and upstanding
But every time, it never fails
They are standing back laughing.
Watching us scramble
Trying to get enough votes
All the while, the system has effectively-
Demolished all hope.
I am supposed to be the dot
That leads you to a way out,
But when I look at the big picture,
We are just pawns in this venture.
Freedom is an illusion
Disguised in confusion
Causing all of us to work for their goals.
Our households are scarred
From them going too far
Hitting below the belt
Dividing family units
Putting dads behind bars
Or worse, killing our sons.
Dot- to-dot
We are all connected by gunshots.
