REGINALD WALKER: A POET
MAMA'S PAIN
Carrying 9 month, laboring for hours...
Pouring showers touch cores after baby showers...
"My baby" echoes through the air, voice filled with joy...
"My baby" mixed with tears and pain, another life destroyed...
Lifetime's storylines ripped straight from the headlines...
A mother's cry is a storyline I've known for a lifetime...
Lifeline shorten in that little hand mama use to hold....
Use to be warm and sticky, now just clammy and cold...
Nooooo with a vicious cry, asking the lord why...
Sentence her baby to all that time for a drug crime...
Can't erase from her mind the smirk on faces while she hurts...
Nieces hug her tighter whenever she wears his t shirts...
Leaving his lifeline intact to be caged and degraded...
Even if released his mind and body deteriorated..
Created in greatness to be discarded like trash...
Mama hates losing her baby over the need for a little cash...
Laboring for hours, pushing that big head out...
Turning boys to men because of what's outside her house...
She wish she could've kept him a kid, she blames herself...
Trying to protect his family or get cash to help...
Y'all don't catch that, just judge the thug that still crave mama's hug...
Pitching 300's and above over mama's love...
Rehabilitation was never the goal for you empty souls...
Just new age slavery, with segregation and holes....
Mamas knowsssss they want to break that man she raised from a boy...
So she stay strong as a example on how not to be destroyed...
Mama suffer like the loss or enslaved life she gave birth to...
Please don't sit there and act as if you don't know what you do…
BLINDER THAN JUSTICE
Blinder than Justice, not knowing what she look like
Traveling the system the wrong way, of course nothing looks right
Reasoning, my life, not not being white is my unjust blight
Naive me, was my first thought when I first gain sight
Right, wrongdoings of my past don't justify today's lynching
Accomplished your task if Justice wasn't the mission
Vengeance is mines said he who you swear upon
Judges kill us as much white supremacist and their guns
Fighting to be heard, when that's my constitutional right
Learning their rules, just for them to change overnight
Waiting patiently in chaos, losing and trying to buy time
While they create new games just to play with our lives
In this journey I am on, psalms songs couldn't prepare
The insight wouldn't have came to light if I wasn't here
Bloodshed wouldn't be believed if I didn't see
I would still be oblivious to unjust Justice if it wasn't me
My day to day wouldn't pave way for tomorrow's change
If I didn't suffer the indignity of their tightly wrapped chains
I'm telling you right now, you only think you know the truth
I was birthed into this and some stuff I never knew
So judge justly when you see me because easily this could be you
When a mistake or a circumstance can change everything you knew
LIL' LADY
They say 24 to 40 years, I'm paying for my crime....
They don't care, to raise my daughter, im paying for the time.....
Trying to convey life lessons in a phone sessions....
two 15 minute calls is a damn blessing....
reckless in my thoughts when the pressure builds....
because our conversation shows she needs her father still...
bothered by her revelations, but don't let on....
and the tone of her voice tells me she wants me home...
I see she seeks to provoke emotions with her words...
so I oblige her to show that she's still my girl...
irate for a moment, but not really...
then our conversation turns into something silly....
A couple quick word jabs, I taught her that...
mostly playful, sprinkled with a little fact....
looking for a way to speak honestly....
with a serious tone, I say "you can tell me anything"...
With that said, she tells me about a boy she likes....
and I find myself instantly wanting to fight....
but I stay calm and minimize the third degree....
and asked if she remembers life lessons taught by me....
she stated her value and worth out the gate...
she's the one right thing from a life of mistakes...
She asks a serious question and I answer honestly....
all while enforcing the fact that she's a Queen....
leaving that subject, she brings up school....
knowing her success is my one biggest rule...
one of our last sessions, she wasn't doing too well...
conveying that zoom classes was equivalent to hell...
taking initiative, she contacted her instructor...
asking what can she do to help her help her...
this put a smile on my face that I couldn't suppress...
and relieved me of a lot of unnecessary stress....
we talk about her birthday, which is months away...
she'll be 16 on that special day...
I didn't ask what she wanted, because she'll say me....
so I made sure to talk about superficial things....
one minute til the call ends, tone change....
and I tell lil lady I love her, she reply the same...
LORD THEY KNOW WHAT THEY DO
Mama they took my life
But please don't cry when the sentence me
I seen the evil in the judge's eyes as if vengeance was his
Smirk on his lips that would rival jokers
I'm not joking mama,
Don't cry when they sentence me
The judge's smile was one where you couldn't see the teeth
Certainly not like a dog or beast, more weak
But with a false sense of superiority that's rooted deep
The pains deep,
But mama don't cry when they sentence me
I'm strong mama, you raised a fighter, you did
This strength is deep, before my ancestors were kids
And I'm smart too, I know I can match their wit
​
Mama cried when they sentenced me,
Which was worse than when they sentenced me
Sparking a fire in a fighter who has a lot of energy
Relentlessly seeking all small wins
Because I know their lack of integrity won't let them admit to what they did
I see the hatred for a face that they never known
But all the same because of the color of the skin I own
Mama I didn't want them to have the satisfaction
That they had with the fire hose and dogs attacking
That they had with the whips and chan were lashing
When they starved us and called it fasting
Stereotype us with black face as masks for the masses
But mama you cried, and that's OK
But I promise you, I'll wipe that smile off their face
Reginald Walker: A Poet
BLACK ROBED THUG
I've never been a fighter that fought blindly....
you could find me where the bigger picture is in HD....
magnified intensely by a vision that's all me....
with a monologue that is always spoken passionately...
emotions stir as you listen intently...
my story is one that you feel, if you ask me.....
I didn't steal billions from the poor to line my own pockets....
my war crimes doesn't involve ballistic rockets....
murder is not the charge, death I did not cause....
I was not not involved in robberies, car jackings, nor assaults....
but 24 to 40 is still my sentence....
that the courts is content for me to live with....
even after ruling that my trial judge was bias....
they still say my trial was fair and I deserve prison....
the definition of fair does not vary...
to tell a naive jury that I'm guilty....
my defense is false, and attack my credibility....
now I ask, how is that being judged fairly....
being doubled teamed by the judge and prosecution....
is not a fair trial, its purely retribution....
for a crime that they feel I am guilty of....
I was not judged by my peers, but by a black robed thug…
BLACK ROBED THUG PT. 2
why do you want my truth if you don't care?......
upset because I dare to stand tall, eye contact, I stare....
articulate and speak these words as if I know something....
but I'm locked up like scum, in your mind I know nothing....
you're the judge and jury, even if I ask for 12....
forming opinions, hatred, and disdain as well...
stained my name in the presence of the selected 12.....
while the court of appeals just say "oh well"....
your influence outweigh anything I'll pull out the air...
telling the jury I'm a lying drug dealer, and that's fair?.....
my trial was a mockery of the judiciary you love....
overseen by a black robed bias thug....
the court of appeals stated you're bias, not just me....
but they sat back and chose not to do a thing....
purposely applying laws incorrectly to deny me...
in order to protect their biased black robed buddy...
in Michigan, the state that I love....
where police, mayors, Congress and even judges are thugs....
where my transgressions are not theirs, so I'm judged harshly....
but their transgressions are worse, how could they judge me?......
OG SPEAK
Even if they want me to hold my tongue....
Stubborn I must be even if they hold the gun...
Hold it son, let them see your empty hands..
Because they're killing boys in the street, not just men...
I've grown into a conscious mind for the sake of my mom...
Because she said to bury me would lessen her life line...
But what I see, I don't like, I must speak....
And this cause me to abandon my nature of humble and meek...
Going to war to destroy a rotten core....
To obey my mother my strategy is contour...
Telling my mother, for the cause, I am a martyr...
Sincerely she says no, you're a son, brother and father...
Trying to make her understand that this fight is part mines...
While she's telling me if I'm harmed her heart dies...
Its unlimited what I am willing to risk...
I have to be understood, not speak as if I have a lisp...
She says the loudest voice isn't always the smartest...
Plus I could do more if I wasn't their target...
I use to think that she want me to fade in the back....
But she was creating a king that could lead the pack...
So now I sit back and strategize my every move...
While being level headed and keeping my cool...
And I promise you mama, I'm going to change the world...
And I'm going to dedicate it all to my old girl....
SINS OF A FATHER
I raise strong women, I know nothing else.....
beautiful, intelligent, and willing to help.....
I uplift every woman because the further is them.....
so I will never condone disrespect from him.....
I have a daughter, nieces, sisters and a mother......
so for a woman's honor I'll go to war with my brother.....
I plow pathways of success for a woman to walk on....
then lay the softest of rugs that leads to her throne....
the world breaks them down, so I build them up.....
telling them that they're beautiful has never been enough.....
so I instill in them value, let them know their worth.....
so the unworthy will never make them hurt.....
I teach women, I know nothing else....
because without women I would not be who I am....
I understand their eagerness to learn and be accepted...
and how fraudulent love will leave them affected....
so the knowledge of men is a lesson to learn....
while remembering their worth and staying firm......
their motherly instincts and sincere compassion....
is worn on their sleeve as if it were fashion.....
to keep them from compromising all that they are....
I give women an insight of a true man's heart.....
a provider, protector, lover with loyalty.....
strength for family and everything else a man should be....
women taught me, so I know nothing else.....
women loved and raised me not to only think of myself....
so I thank Shirley, Rita, Yvon,and Lilly..... Salina, Jo, Sandra, Marla and Tammy....
Shones, Jeanna, and Genet if they only knew....
the impact their love and trust had on me too.....
because of them I am wise and also bothered.....
because I know now, the daughter pays for the sins of her father.....
GAME OVER
I smile often, more than they think I should.....
maybe because I'm doing what they didn't think I could....
shock on their face lifts up my spirits....
I'm proof that all black men are not ignorant.....
they're wondering why I have been so emboldened.....
not knowing that I speak the language they thought was coded....
average isn't an option when I start something.....
me being meek doesn't mean that I know nothing....
patience is a virtue, I play the long game....
check mate is seen before I move my Queen....
I play my opponent, the game is secondary.....
their arrogance shows that they underestimate me.....
so I let them speak in a manner that God wouldn't approve.....
then sincerely compliment their game after they lose......
their oath means nothing when their pride is on the line....
integrity is gone, they rely on lies.....
my humbleness continues without a thought of malice....
because I know that my God given gift is pure magic.....
I inhale deeply, taking in life....
the bad with the good, the wrong with the right....
I know who I am and the strength that I bring.....
so encourage them to lie, cheat and bring a whole team....
victory is mine when I face their kind....
because they never thought that they'll give me their time....
they never thought we'll meet face to face....
that day they realized there's no inferior race......
so victory is mine at their point of confusion.....
because they realized that they lose, not just losing.....
WHEN THEY SEE ME
when they see us, what do they see?...
Me being me, strong black man on his own two feet...
Not fleeing me to become what you want to see....
Unlocking ideology with no keys, but when they see me...
Imitating culture that I'm criticized for...
Passing threshold to enter my unlocked doors...
Strong hold of hatred, but they secretly love...
Admiring my strength and the fact I will not budge...
I can't tell you what they see when they see me....
Maybe its a nightmare or a beautiful dream...
Maybe they're shocked because of what they thought I'll be...
But in 2020 they were really able to see..
Flint water open their eyes, George Floyd made them cry...
Limited resources, so in the pandemic they watched me die...
When they see me, do they think I'm less than?...
Am I'm considered a brother, sister, mother, father, best friend?...
Is my murder justified because I'm considered 3/5th of a whole man....
I can't tell you what they see when they see me, my friend...
But what they should see is a strong, intelligent black king...
Humble in character, and able to do anything...
You should be able to see you in me...
Perfect definition of what humanity should be…
FIGHTING WHILE BLACK
Fighting while black is hard to do...
stereotypes and stigmas already placed on you...
drug dealer he must be...
robber, home invader, society is lucky...
if the police say he did, than he's guilty...
and this is all before I am judged by a jury...
judge comments that block my defense...
the scales of justice is tipped just a little bit...
they speak of integrity as if they have any...
I don't see it and my views are shared by many...
tough cookie, damn I wish it was fortune...
who knew they were hoarding blacks in such large portions?...
even the guilty are unjustly sentenced...
the same crime, but the time is different...
this is not grey, only black and white...
he gets probation, but they want half my life....
so fighting while black is something hard to do...
but I am gonna fight for my justice rather I win or lose
AMERICA THE GREAT
they tricked me, sleight of hand...
my stature made me forget I'm viewed as 3/5 a man...
land I'm not suppose to own, I purchased, perfect...
but every since birth I was viewed as worthless...
fighting like Malcolm, still to be X...
still last in their minds, when I'm obviously next...
don't get it twisted, even sex played a role...
women shouldn't have dreamed or considered having a goal...
bold, Martin was when he marched, then jailed for moving forward...
cliff edge, is the direction they want us moving towards...
shores covered in black bodies that jumped from the ships...
permanent tattoos etched in by unrelenting whips...
then trapped in bondage, no fifty shades of grey...
I couldn't imagine being asked "boy, what did you say"...
a man before all, I am...
they say god says "I am", so they used him...
they used Bible verses to justify beatings, bondages and slavery..
now they use man-made laws that was created to target me...
but I am black, a man, and strong...
I am him who accepts and doesn't justify his wrongs...I am a fighter, a leader who atones...
I am my ancestors, a king, deserving of my throne..
when America recognize me will it be worth the wait?..
I don't know, but maybe then they'll be America the great…
UNTIL NEXT TIME
have you ever craved hand holding more than a kiss...
or a pair of lips to meet yours would be your one and only wish..
has a hug ever felt like life entering you..
simple eye contact seems like something fantastically new...
has the warmth of a loved one's body energized your soul..
making you feel like you can accomplish any task and goal...
has the scent of that person caused your heart to flip..
so you inhale deeper, the high is better than any trip..
have you ever held on tight never wanting to let go...
because doing so would make you feel empty and go cold...
would it break your heart when they leave to go home...
because you crave more time, but they leave you alone...
two hours to visit, I laughed, I loved, I cried...
but when you had to go, I died until next time…