their own brand

[The Pharcyde]

Mark Russell, 34, of Northeast Washington, D.C.


i'm always paranoid
when i cross that threshold--
anticipating that moment
a barrel's pressed to the back
of my head, a voice demanding
my immmediate possessions

i'm still a little uneasy when
a packed car pulls up beside me
at traffic lights with crunk
blasting through open windows

i usually don't make eye contact

just the other day, a kid
was shot for looking at somebody
the wrong way

with the news constantly
reminding us that we haven't
quite figured out how to live
with each other,
can you blame me

you don't think they're just
as threatened when they see me
walking my terrier or jogging
after midnight

that for them, the sight
of me means that condos and
coffee shops are coming with
increased police presence

how do you think i feel being
the reason for the "uh oh"
expression on some of the metro
riders' faces when i seemingly
missed my stop and wandered
onto their side of town

as if i haven't been living
here for six months already

my neighbors weren't exactly
thrilled when i moved in, i over-
heard a kid telling his friend
there goes the neighborhood
it's scary sometimes, knowing
my skin's synonymous to this
country's harsh history

that i look a lot like
the policymakers who are
sending these kids to war

how many times do i have
to go on pretending not to
hear the young punks
imitating my inflections
and nicknaming me "Bobby"

you don't think i have the urge
sometimes to feed them their own
brand of humor, to show them
that i can get ignant, too

but then, where does that get us?

[~WORDZ~]

seems like you've had this on your mind for a long time now. I liked the message here. Nice.

[The Pharcyde]

Originally Posted by ~WORDZ~

seems like you've had this on your mind for a long time now. I liked the message here. Nice.

thank you. i'm a person of color. this exercise was to write a poem in the voice
of a character. So I created Mark Russell and tried to write from the perspective of a white guy living in Northeast Washington, D.C. I hope it was convincing.

Thanks again.

[~WORDZ~]

LOL... Hell yea it was convincing! LOL I thought you were white. ROTFLMAO!

[Mind~$oul]

Dope concept man. Reminds me of my grandmother though. She will not leave her home under any circumstances unless somebody goes out with her. I think it's kinda fucked up when you're scared to life in your own city. I feel like that way all the time though when I gotta go through what we call the "uppity" part of town. Police come up behinnd you, you just know going to jail for life lol.

Nicely written piece man. Always enjoy reading your work.

One luv

[Definit_]

how do you think i feel being
the reason for the "uh oh"
expression on some of the metro
riders' faces when i seemingly
missed my stop and wandered
onto their side of town

as if i haven't been living
here for six months already

my neighbors weren't exactly
thrilled when i moved in, i over-
heard a kid telling his friend
there goes the neighborhood
it's scary sometimes, knowing
my skin's synonymous to this
country's harsh history

^^This Was Different.. I Loved How You Kinda Told This In A Story..Exposed Alot Of Great Imagery While Reading.. Definit Good Read..


Bless.