East Campus, Casa Phiota, Room 2, November 2000
Ay dios mio said the random intruder
Joann Joann in search of her line sister
Getting smoked out underneath
Scarface’s say hello to my little friend poster
Sitting comfy on futons with two mattresses
Ashtray full of clips
Incense box full of old sticks
Dusty TV/VCR combo passed on from Walt
Piggy bank half empty
Big L Big Picture 4 mic Source Review
Cellphone looking like remote control
JVC 6 CD changer surround sound
Panasonic Radio Discman
Desk overflowing with new poems
Like in the final analysis and dedication for bro
Announcement for the next open mic at the Nuyorican
Dogeared copy of Family Installments
Where great greats blew out brains with rusty pistola
Hanging on for 2 weeks before it’s over
Closet full of clothes too baggy for the future grown self
Still need room to grow echo from the laughter
Bump that computer 1 gig hard drive
Little memory skipping instrumentals from what we just
blazed
Looking at the past shows how the future is made
Lil exclusive pad on Riverside Drive
In the shade watching the shadows shift
As the sunsets over Harlem
Would only step through Morningside
2 for $5 specials
Don’t let the demons catch you coming from 109th
Way before guzzling pints
Daydreaming gazing at sights
Overlooking the waterfall carved into a cradle
Of swan and duck pond
How quickly times move on
Moments frozen like steaming on 117th over both
shoulders
J & R CD guy outside Tom’s for early albums
The library searching for the reasons
To keep breezing through bullshit behind empty smiles
Jet back uptown to understand the freestyle
Always comes with hidden costs
Every cough connects more to the cipher
Where after many frustrated nights
Declare in the mirror reflecting the world’s skyline
I am a writer!
How the smoke shapes the smile
Takes a while for an intoxicated degree to take effect
I found the owl in the alma mater wish I come rewind time
Like Bobbito on KCR in my tape deck
