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Sunday, April 19, 2015

The Ghetto's Ritual

There they go again. 

Posted outside the Papi Store 
with lucy’s tucked between 
the crannies of their ears like carpenters. 
Babbling lyrics from rap songs 
while their arms catch holy ghost; 
while the hour glass of their 
freedom dwindles away abruptly.  

“...It's all about the motherfuckin’ money!
It's all about the motherfuckin’ money!...” 

i see myself in the 
reflection of their lost; 
in the indifference of 
their laughter; 
in the quiet of their pain.  

Five-O creeps through the block 
like a drive-by, while the drug dealers 
stand their ground like a Mexican standoff.  

The tension is thick enough 
to cut with a prison shank.

“Ayooooooo!...where the bitches at bro?” 
“Stayin’ away from you broke ass niggas!” 
“Yeah iight, i get bitches nigga!” 
“Imagine that. The last time you got some pussy, DMX made a hit record.” 
“HAHAHA!!!” 

The air tastes like a black family reunion cookout down south. 
The new mothers proudly push their infant babies in strollers, 
while waiting on a collect call from the incarcerated fathers. 
Their girlfriends awkwardly flaunt their baby bumps. 
The newsy church women watch in shame, 
even though they became mothers at much younger ages. 
The kids recklessly ride their bikes in the street 
with no parents in sight.  
The universe colors our skin with sun.


...summer is around the corner. 

© Sulē Cerdan 2015

Monday, March 2, 2015

The Stamp (ADHD)

Run child. 
From them Ritalin pushers; 
them Adderall peddlers; 
them Concerta dealers. 
Waiting, 
Lurking,  
Hoping, 
To bottle up your spirit. 
To put a cork in your passion. 
To place a lid on your bizarre. 
Run farrrr child. 
Beyond their boxes. 
Beyond their brands, 
that make “The Man” rich. 
And puts his children 
through college, while ours 
become (add)icts. 
But this country 
was built off genocide. 
The Land of the Free, 
The Land that made a killin’ 
off selling lies. 
So why stop now, 
when history was written 
by those who have lynched prophets 
and shot down revolutionaries? 

© Sulē Cerdan 2015

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Broken Vows


Love doesn’t live there... 

In the gaze of their eyes, 
In the shouts of goodbyes, 
In the warmth of their bed, 
In the stress of their sighs, 

In the streets when they walk, 
In the car when they drive, 
In the stores where they shop, 
In the house where they hide. 

Love doesn’t live there...

In the black of her heart, 
In the blues of his soul, 
In the red of their eyes, 
In the gray of their old, 

In the bones in their closets, 
In the ghost of their past, 
In the dope of their gossip,  
In the shroud of their mask. 

Love doesn’t live there. 

I wonder, 
did it ever? 

© Sulē Cerdan 2015

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

The Walk Home

The phony smiles.
The slack shoulders.
The dismal eyes,
Bloodshot and weary.
The unhealed wounds.
The deep regrets.
The mechanized steps,
Vain and Godless.
i hate it.
The way they
flaunt fake.
The way they
pretend confidence.
The way they
advocate lies,
The way it flows
off their tongues
like oxygen.
Ignorance is
ubiquitous.
In the air and
in the streets.
In the homes
and in the schools.
It made me.
Now it makes
me sick.
But hope
is and always
has been my
medicine.
So i carry on.
Hoping.

© Sulē Cerdan 2015

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Red Carpet

When the red carpet fills,
When the red carpet fills.
  The churches grow idle,
          The protests go still.
The playgrounds forsakened,
while brain cells are killed.
When the red carpet fills,
When the red carpet fills.
The stars become Gods,
Gods words become lies.
Real becomes fake,
and beauty becomes guise.
When the red carpet fills,
When the red carpet fills.
Legacies are forgotten,
History is rewritten.
Ancestors have rottened,
and enemies keep living.
When the red carpet fills,
When the red carpet fills.
Our lives become fruitless,
Our smiles become dull.
Our freedom turns futile,
imprisoned by walls.
When the red carpet fills,
When the red carpet fills.
It fills the whole world
with Lucifer’s will.

© Sulē Cerdan 2015

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

the new slaves

It used to be,
Afros and Dashikis.
Black Berets and Power Fists.

Now its,
Tattoos and Silicone.
Blond Wigs and Ego Trips.

You see,
a Real Nigga is
the new Black and Proud.
The new peaceful March on Washington,
The new Railroads Underground.
The new Lindy Hops till bodies drop,
The new Soul Trains to James Brown.

We’ve been got!
Swindled!
Hoodwinked!
Led astray!

Like our ancestors.

Like our ancestors
ancestors, who prayed
that their great great
grandchildren wouldn’t
have to live their life in chains.

Well...
It used to be.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Time

Time.

The thorn in my side.
The apple of my eyes.
The heaven in my laugh.
The cynic in my why.

Time.

A felons nightmare.
A soldiers dream.
A nine-to-fivers curse.
A bank robbers scheme.

Time.

An illusion turned real.
An intrusion on will.
A solution to jail a
revolutions bold shrill.

Time.

A dying man’s wish.
A broken man’s hell.
A holy man’s grace.
A lucky man’s spell.

Time.

Ticking...Flying...
Ticking...Flying...
Away.

© Sulē Cerdan 2015

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Monday-Mourning


Monday-Mourning

i will not RISE like a monday mornin'. 

Cursing the alarm clock.
Despising the sunlight.
Loathing the blackbirds chirp. 

i will not RISE like a monday mornin'. 

Forgetting what a smile feels like.
Forgetting what thank you tastes like.  
Forgetting what happiness looks like. 

i will not RISE like a monday mornin'. 

Needing coffee to awake my spirit.
Needing a smoke to bring me a step closer to death. 
Needing propaganda to beguile my idle mind.

i will not RISE like a monday mornin'. 

Disguised in lies,
Cloaked in fear, 
Guised in pride, 
Soaked in tears.  

i will not RISE like a monday mornin'. 

Without hope. 
Without dreams. 
Without purpose. 
Without God. 


© Sulē Cerdan 2015

Monday, February 9, 2015

Dreadlocks

They swung
like dreadlocks.
Underneath
thousands of falling suns.
Hundreds of limp bodies
dripping from poplar trees
casually ballroom dancing
with the wind.

Frozen in time
and space;
in fear and relief.

Despair braided
deep in their spines
like death had the hands
of African mothers.

They left US their bones
to use as stepping-stones.

So We swung
like dreadlocks.
Underneath
thousands of rising suns.
Hundreds of brawlers
unflinchingly spilling blood
like water on the seeds
of family trees.

Frozen in time
and space;
in love and faith.

Hope braided
deep in their spines
like God had the hands
of African mothers.

We will happily leave behind
OUR bones to use as
stepping-stones.

© Sulē Cerdan 2015

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Great Void

The reason
We dig deep
Within our souls,
Is because
There are holes
In us...

Holding us
Hostage like infants
In mothers arms.

Begging to be filled
Like womens palms,
Like inner thighs,
Like foot massage...

You play the fool
They feed you lies.
I'm losin' cool,
I'm losin' mind,

Just maybe death
Might take his time.

If love is blind
Than I can see,
If love is blind
Oh I can see...

© Sulē Cerdan 2015

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Mountain Of Bones

Scale the limbs.
Tower the land.
Guzzle the blood.
Obey “The Man”.

Ignore the screams.
Destroy your queens.
Ignite the hate.
Think God is green.

Think love is lies.
Think truth is guise.
You shoot to kill,
I shoot to FLY.

F irst
L ove
Y ourself.

No suit and tie,
Can bring you peace.
No piece you buy,
Can kill the beast.

So open eyes,
Oh open eyes,
And see the Truth
Right through the lies.

Scale the limbs.
Tower the land.
Guzzle the blood.
Call Out “The Man”!

© Sulē Cerdan 2015