10.18.2012

i did it for my dawgz


Veinte Seis

Whole bunch of homies going to rehab
For poor choices they made when they were younger

Can’t really ignore the hunger
Just becomes a dull empty sensation

So much temptation surrounded by negativity
From the moment you walk to the store

What is the core of your origins
Did you have a rocky beginning

Was the middle so tumultuous
You could never recover

How much are you trying to discover
Would you even search the public library

For informational handouts
That might push you in the right direction

Don’t deal with perception
Engage with the realness never shown
On the media with makeup shine

Refine how you define peace of mind
Paradise should never be based on turbulence

Within puddles in potholes
You will seldom find rainbows of pots of gold

There is a hold on your account
Due to late fees

That have suspended your borrowing privileges
So you will never grab anything on credit

So much weight on the arm starting to be dislocated
Mental so crooked needs to be straightened

who knows?


Quien Sabe?

How much swag
Can you squeeze
Into your flee fitted?

How far can you
Pull the hoody
Over your crimson eyes
So you can keep
Breathing chronic air?

How loud
Will your quiet smoke be?

What ghosts
Do you carry
In your baggy jeans?

When does the grind
Become exhausting?

Where do you go
To release your screams
To the cloudy skies?

Why does the degree
Of difficulty turn up
As you switch the temperature?

Who sits
On the couch
Of your corazon’s closet?

How bright
Are the thoughts
Of your dark brain?

Why do you
Camouflage so easily
With the shadows?

Why does
Your small talk
Have large consequences?

When will
The monotonous GroundHog Day
In the glorious ghetto
Ever end?

What will be
The sale price
Of your brand new life
Customized
With no fuckery
For the future?

10.12.2012

coqui loco


Bronx Coqui

sings from rooftops to be recognized anonymously

inhales toxic chronic air making voice raspy

jumps from puddle to puddle looking for lilypads

makes wishes on dandelions to transport
him back to island oasis paradises

hears faint bongos through the barrios

screams with the loneliness of his displacement

wants to remix caribbean cuisine
like jerk mofongo or curry pernil

has front row seats for the parade
that reminds him of la perla he will never see

visits las bodegas in the afternoon
for a pickmeup cafecito con leche

takes express rides uptown on gypsy cabs
to transfer to the crosstown bus

Orchard Beach man made sand
distant memories of Ocean Park

landed on soft concrete messing
with shock absorbtion in Kermit's knees

comes from long lines of boricuas
who left behind madre tierra for concrete jungla
like Burgos Millan Casillas Rodriguez

has all the Morales he needs
to ribbit his way up mean streets

features, features

i'm gonna be rocking @columbia university on october 18th.

I'm gonna be featuring @capicu at lp & harmony on october 27th.

should be super illmatic. looking forward to it.

holla if you still living.

manejando coolly


Failure to signal

I
means your fellow drivers don't know your next moves

how difficult is it to get in the groove
unoffensive isolation to encourage inspiration

so many wonder why is the project waiting

for you to build up enough courage currency
to believe how broken you've become

for suffering to simmer below surface

until your story is sung loudly not
muffled jumbled spoken illegibly

stuttering over what you just scribbled

given all the answers but can't solve
your own enigmatic riddle

all you want for a lonely birthday
are times frozen never to thaw

let's stay this age forever
rerun episodes in preparation for a shaky future

absolute anonymity until
your intriguing mug stands out in a fashionable crowd

all you need is another comrade to complete your coup

revolution starts when the reflection shifts
perception dismisses assumption

maximize the utility of your malfunction
you don't work
dreams outta order

reality will stay exact same
who else but yourself can you blame?

II

might be tropical pineapple
always have to pack a hoody in case it get chilly

for real goosebumps on skin in paleface

got those white ghosts on ashy palms
throw the powder in the sky for all the fiends
to feel your fresh essence

get a whiff of this musk underarms beneath overpass

why lie? signs posted next to proverbs
proactively work the sweat out of perm

shaking shoulders so proud to be a papa
or tio dancing crazy in a party with all eyes on you

strobe lighting stimulating cortex
developing at speed of stoplights and potholes

soothing you to sleep gracefully finally
pat bottom to let you play for a while

sleep is not in the plans
need to absorb streetlights after sundown

the city will forever shine
marvelously from down bottom

can't be a half gangsta where they growl
at you from the gutter

goons shoot own brother to show love
after they kill you
they will salute then hug you