Revolution #240, July 24, 2011
Letter to the Hood
This poem was forwarded to Revolution from the Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund.
Letter to the Hood
To all the fellas in the hood
Yeah, I’m talking about you, dude
Sittin’ around in a bad mood
Walkin’ around acting all rude
If only you had the BAsics
Then you’d know your actions are without basis
That they only serve to make the man feel safest
When he knows he has you at your tamest
Watching as you take it out on each other
Instead of acting like that homeboy’s your brother
It’s no longer even a wonder
Why we’re all still asunder
Maybe if my generation had a B.A. degree
Then we’d all be outside and free
It sounds that simple, don’t you agree?
What are you waiting for then, an RCP decree?
You already know that this place ain’t no fun
That there’s more important things to be done
It’s not like you’re a coward choosing to run
Just ’cause you realize life’s much brighter under the sun
And that you’d rather sacrifice for a noble cause
Than to live out some T.V. fantasy from “Oz”
So think real hard and take a pause
’Cause ride or dying in the hood won’t get you applause
It’ll just turn you into an afterthought in someone’s memory
While you waste away in the penitentiary
Adding to the fodder of some reactionary
’Cause you chose to live the life of a criminal than a revolutionary
By Prisoner at Pelican Bay
June 27, 2011
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