Baby Boy

On By dancingpalmtreesIn Uncategorized

He looked like an Angel albeit a broken Angel splayed out on the cold marble floor. His head at angles with his twisted body along with his staring unseeing eyes extinguished any hope that the embers of life still burned within him.  The earth came up to meet him and swallowed him into the heavens.  The Benjamins make a poor parachute.

Cupid shot by his own Arrow.
Cupid shot by his own Arrow.

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Baby Boy

Baby Boy Got $200 sneakers as a reward for cussing the teachers and failing in school. Teacher or principals fault. Grades all F but it ain’t me you fucked up can’t you see! School’s for Fools. Some place I don’t want to be.

Baby Boy he never wrong. They got it all mixed up seeing me strong. Y’all know I’m the King of my crew. God’s Gift to everything.

But in the back of your head all you can see is yo’ no count Daddy, welfare system and crackhead Momma staring back in the mirror saying you gonna be like me.

Hanging out in the upper class nabe with my hoodrat crew. See a few things I wanna take. Wait a minute! What’s that I hear! A siren in back of me. Starting to fear. Next thing I’m on Lock down in Juvie Hall. Where my crew at now when as I’m taking this fall.

Baby boy lying in a ditch. Worse off than being a Snitch. Off to Rikers’ to be somebody’s Bitch. Baby Boy. You Done. You Done.

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His rhymes had got him to the big time. Opened new doors of upper class vice and sin. The immoralities of the 1%. I gazed at my son from the balcony of one of the greatest art institutions in the city seeing not the young man who had entered the 27 Club of the Immortals but every little boy running up and down Linden Blvd., Jamaica Avenue, Fulton Street or Sedgwick Avenue running to be the next 50 cent or Jay-Z finding fame and winding up on 27 Jump Street misjudging the doubles lives one foot in the hood and the other on Central Park West or the Upper East Side seeking Hipster fame and validation.

Jump my Son/Sun. Jump out of your dreams and into Eternity.

46 thoughts on “Baby Boy”

  1. That rap fever is everywhere. It’s very difficult watching some children follow that trend without success, and sometimes, all you can do is support their passion. Nice post.

    1. Everyone has a dream, especially the young however if that dream causes you to lose sight of your values you need to re-examine your dream. When Rap/Hip-Hop started out in the late 1970s and early 1980s the songs were playful, insightful, and bore a social message. Also there were different types of Rap music reflecting the different parts of the United States. Then the industry decided to promote Gangsta Rap which denigrates and dehumanizes our fellows and in particular women. Rap has become extremely misogynistic and violent. All you hear is the B-word and that horrible N-word!! Disgraceful. I can’t even call it music but noise that glorifies the worship of money and using any means including killing others to get said money. Our children must be taught that there are more careers than hip-hop/rap or basketball.

    1. Thank you so very much. Thinking of developing this piece along with another into a Spoken Word format. My next step is to create my own channel on YouTube. I appreciate your feedback! :
      )

  8. My husband was a juvenile probation officer before he retired. It used to break his heart because he would ask these young men who had just been arrested what they planned for their future. Nine times out of ten they said they wanted to play professional basketball. He tried to get them to understand that they needed to get straight and get back in school and apply themselves then. They just didn’t get it. And it wasn’t just the boys….

    1. The poem was loosely based on one of my younger cousins who has a genius IQ, a photographic memory but is extremely violent. His attitude came from his mother who had this stupid idea that her sons should be rap musicians as opposed to going to school or respecting their elders. One day he made the mistake of raising his hand to me and it was only my fear of jail that kept this Army Vet from slicing and dicing him. Too bad these young people will never make it to their 50s like my generation however I’ll be damned if I let one of these punks take me out. Needless to say I don’t speak to this branch of my family anymore. Permanent rift. It won’t surprise me if they wind up in prison but that’s what happens in broken families. Their respective parents are to blame. BTW, the mother my cousin is a crack addict who makes excuses for her kids (now they are all grown adults) bad behavior. I just make sure I stay far, far away from them. Why kids think they can all play basketball or spit rhymes is beyond me but if your parents are off course the kids will be also. Thanks for reading and for the comment.

      1. Too bad that intelligence can be channeled into being productive. The violence in youth is frightening and I, too, believe that the bulk of the blame is on the parents and what they teach or don’t teach. Although, sadly, it seems that too many of today’s young parents weren’t taught either. I’m from a different generation and it’s difficult to watch what’s happening in the world. Stay safe!

      2. I’m a Licensed New York State Security Officer. Therefore I can’t afford to go to jail. Also who would take care of my disabled brother if I was in prison? I am well able to practice self-control if need be. As for my cousins I no longer speak to or interact with that branch of my family. Personally I don’t care what they do or what happens to them as long as it does not hurt or involve my brother and I. Peace through No Contact.

  9. My grandson has been treated for mental health problems since he was 13. He is now 20 and in “supervised accommodation” in Southampton: a house where all bar him and one other are convicted paedophiles. He has been offered an alternative: a house where even the toilet seats are wiped for traces of drugs. He has been clean for 2-3 years now, so I don’t want him to go there.

    On the bright side, he is passionate about his lizards and snakes, and about rapping. He thinks he will be the world’s leading rapper some day and he has all the gear. To be fair, he turns out some good stuff, although not entirely to my taste!

    He’s been through some tough times. I just want to keep him out of danger, and there’s a lot of that out there, including some of the people who are supposed to take care of him, I believe.

    So this is a powerful article, and really resonates with me. Thanks!

    1. Lance, Thank you for the marvelous testimony regarding your grandson. I wish him all the best and pray that his creativity will override temptation. With you as a Grandfather I’m sure that he will find support, encouragement and inspiration through you. God Bless you both.

  10. Cardboard Express

    Hello there! I just want to say that you have an incredible blog, and that your content is insightful, refreshing, and apt!

  12. Powerful poem and equally powerful comments. It seems there is a connection between the death of common sense and the deterioration of our society. I remember, as you state in one of your responses to a comment, about how rap evolved from its playful beginnings to the violence of today. I also remember proponents of this type of rap talking about it coming out of life’s experiences and while this could have a hint of truth I wonder why we can’t find a more positive approach and seek a peaceful, intelligent solution to our societal ills. It’s gotten to the point that you can’t even listen to the news anymore because all they report on are the killings every, single day. Is rap to blame for all of this? I don’t think so but it certainly perpetuates a negative lifestyle that influences our young who in turn idolize the nonsense. Parents have got to start being parents again because without a firm foundation our youth are destined to fail.

    By the way I like how you handled your nephew even though the threat of jail prevented you from…

    1. Thanks. And as angry as I was with my nephew common sense prevailed. As it turned out the very next month he wound up in Juvie Hall. Had the nerve to give the police officer my phone number. I politely listened to the message then hung up. Tough Love. No excuses. Do the crime then do the time. Yes Parents do need to be Parents and not their kids friends. As my Dad used to say, “You better straighten up and Fly Right!”

      1. You remind me of myself. I’ve done the tough love with my 3 boys and now that they’re all grown they’ve actually thanked me for it, but it was tough going for a while. Thought I’d lose my mind. I remember straighten up and fly right. My mother used that on my brother and I ALL the time. That and “because I said so” (I hated this line by the way).

  15. Afrika Bohemian

    I do not know it is the writing or the brutal honesty of this post, but it makes for a beautiful post. I do not know what it will take for this generation of blacks living to prove the stereo type right? It hurts me but maybe the issue is much more complex than we care to admit while the rest of the world keeps telling us to get over it. It seems they are still trying to get back what was stolen from us (however misguided), still trying to prove that we are strong and when we have money trying to say look everybody this is the staff the white people said I could never have and now that I have it I will make a show of it so everybody knows (misguided) the land is gone, the names and God are gone and there is nothing to buy back. I see it everyday in my country the youth still trying to get over the shock and effects of colonialization, apartheid etc. it has been only 49 years ago and in SA they have only been free since 1994. Nothing in Afrika belongs to the Afrikan the scars go deep and sometimes people want to be heard, want for their pain to be acknowledge needs empathy and not sympathy…sorry for writing so much on the comments but you are so right and the back of his head all he can see is the absentee father and the welfare system… waring cuney was right “dish water reflect back no images.”

  18. I love this!!! So true about this generations. I know a few that graduated 6/7 years ago still trying to be rap stars, instead of picking a realistic career. Maybe rap can still be a hobby 😒

      1. I understand. I see this type of behavior every time I go home. Can have the freshest pair of shoes but No dreams and ambitions to be a successful man.

      2. It was not entirely their fault. Sadly their mother was a crack addict with 3 kids by 3 different men. Children live what they see. Also their mother my cousin always made excuses for their bad behavior so they never learned to accept the consequences of bad behavior. Wanting their mother’s love they had no idea that she was manipulating them to collect Welfare and Food Stamps. Now all these kids are grown and at least one has a prison record. I cut ties with them years ago for my own safety so who knows what’s going on with their lives or where they’re at now. The choices you make when you’re young can affect or follow you for the rest of your life. Three brilliant young lives were sucked into a vortex of crime, poverty and that cycle of delusion.

  19. This is real and the reality for our sons. I just saw a video on FB a kid about 10 years in Memphis smoking weed and playing with a gun. Our kids need parents to pay more attention. Sounds like we live close. I’m in Queens.

  20. Hi there! I saw you at Jaqueline’s party and wanted to come and see you for a few. Nice post. I will return soon for a longer visit. I am following. Your new friend, Annette

      1. We are on the Ann train of peace, love, and all things that make us happy! Yippie!! Glad you visited. I am going to the party in a second….lol

  22. Hi, Fab blog! I am still in the very early stages – 4 months old. Just making efforts to link in with fellow bloggers to improve our followers and get the word out there for us both. I would appreciate you having a peek at my blog, as I have published several posts. Feel free to like, comment, follow or just take a peek. Thank you 🙂

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