I’m not one for
Status and Privilege

I don’t want or need to be
Exclusively VIP

I don’t need a special thing
Just for me
Just because

Yes
I am a unique and wonderful creature

Yes
I can do many things most can’t

Yes
Some times
Most times
I’m the only one

We all possess god given abilities
Natural unlearned talents

the cheetah naturally being seven steps ahead of its prey
the sun issuing forth heat and light

Tell me

When you look across the hunting ground
do you not see the pack of hyena

When you gaze upon the night sky  
Hypnotized by the twinkling stars

Do you see only one

©Christopher F. Brown 2015

I saw flowers sprout from your chest
every time we spoke
and just from the way
your brown skin glistened
I knew that the sun favored
you the most.

I said my desire was like a tree
its Autumn come upon me

the boy with the dark brown eyes sat in front of me in science. I caught him turning back and looking at me as I took notes. he smiled at me when I looked up at him. he asked for my number that day.

the boy with the dark brown eyes was late for science. he sat down and didn't say anything. he never turned around to talk to me. I called him that night to see if everything was okay. he never answered.

the boy with the dark brown eyes never showed up to science. the teacher broke it to us. he tried to **** himself the night before and was in the hospital. I didn't take notes. i couldn't take my eyes off his vacant seat. I called his number that night hoping he would answer. I sobbed when I heard his voice on his voicemail.

the boy with the dark brown eyes came back to science. he turned back to me and smiled. the first time i had seen him smile in months. I called his number that night, and he answered. we talked all night, and we shared our deepest fears and greatest loves. he said his greatest love was me.

the boy with the dark brown eyes was early to science today. he turned around and called me beautiful. I blushed when he asked me on a date. that night he called me and thanked me for saving him. when really, he was the one that saved me.

I looked you in the eye
I listened on your rants
I heard it when you sigh
I love it when you smile

You've never seen me once
No. It's not a lie
But then again...
I looked you in the eye

I have seen him
inside and out
Scanning every being around him,
pacing nervously and cracking a joke to lighten the mood.
But he posseses fire
Lifting him upwards
He can tear the pages of heaven
and I have seen his eyes,
filled with desire,
they are brown with a streak of fire

The Fringle comes
in brawly runs
inside thweem  drums
and peppanuns

In am big
You us thems
Filet see
US cows

Derivative equated
To Dis one time
Remove the s from integral
Dis integrate

Cal,  cul,  us
m,    t,      e,
My
Thermometer
Exercises

The right
to remain

in silence

All my life I've paid,
I've paid taxes, dues and sacrifices
I've paid bills, attention and detention
**** I've even paid a visit to the county jails a few too many times, either as son, brother or inmate
Either way I've paid, but
Why Do I Gotta Pay?
Why do I have to pay every time a cop sees me on the streets,
Why do I gotta pay every time they slam me on the concrete,
Why do I gotta pay every time they serve and protect me,
Why I gotta pay taxes to subsidize the incomes of those who disrespect me,
Answer me,
Is it because I came from a broken home, or because my Mama was on drugs and my Pops left us all alone,
Is it because I was baptized into the street life b4 I could even decide between wrong and right,
No, no, no, I know why, it's because I look too Mexican and not enough white, right? Nah, it's probably because all my friends are high school dropouts, washed up or strung out,
Or is it because the Indigenous, Latinos and Africans are worthless, well ****, I didn't get to choose my race but if I did I'd still choose Mex!
Why Do I Gotta Pay?
Is it because I'm a threat to the status quo and looked upon as the states foe, well that's not fair, I pay a bigger percentage of income tax than Mr. Koch, Wait! I think I know! It's because my family's from the other side, **** that border! Daddy, why couldn't you be white? It's like what I told you on the 16th of September, We don't belong here because we have indigenous blood, remember? This is the European man's land, duh! Y'all are just so ignorant huh?
Why Do I Gotta Pay?
Is it because for a little bit of contraband from the Earth I'm a convicted felon while Ray Rice is free after he crushed his wife's skull like a melon, is it because I can't find a job and still I haven't robbed, is it because my school won't give me financial aid so I was forced to sell dope to get paid, but still I don't get paid, I pay taxes or the carnales will have me put in my grave
Wait! I know why I have to pay!
It's because I'm a slave, not to celebrity gossip, consumerism and materialism, but to imperialism of the state, I'm enslaved cuz I got too much soul to behave, my stilo is Zapatista & I'm **** with my head shaved, They made me a slave cuz they know I'd take their wombmen away, not by force though, cuz who could resist a date from this Latin Lover from around the way, they mad cuz I got Spanglish from the barrio, lingo from the hood & an academic vocabulary from the Pecker Woods, they scared cuz they're wombmen wish they could, every time I step out Miralo, I'm lookin good! These cops could never be us, and when I'm thuggin, Man, I wish they would! Im a slave cuz I don't understand, understood? I'm standing over my land, understand? Cuz I don't ever stand under! I only Overstand! That's why I gotta pay! Cuz I'm a slave that won't work for minimum wage, I'm a slave that can't be put in a cage, Im a slave that don't know his place, I'm a slave that just won't go away, I'm a slave that can't behave, I'm a slave that charms sharper than a blade, I'm a slave that steals hearts and makes way, I'm a slave that plays and never gets played,
And that's Why I Pay
Cuz I'm a slave that chose his own fate ✊