Free

You say we free
Then why you stuck in one area
Can’t go outside your boundaries ’cause
Brothas wanna bury you
For reasons uncertain
Young brothas dyin’ so rapidly now
It’s like damn we lost him too
And you say we free
Talkin’ about you got freedom of speech
Stayin’ in one part of town can’t expand
Your brain, the sky
Impossible to reach
That hopeless feelin’, thinkin’ the only thing you can
Do right is sleep
And you say we free
Trapped in a concrete jungle
Where everybody wants to be a lion
Feelin’ there’s no sense in climbin’
To the top because brothas on the streets
Are like crabs in a bucket
Always pulling you down
And you say we free
Then why we cheat our brains
It’s hard to be creative with the cells that remain
Minds trapped in chains inside a cage
Screamin’ for freedom
But blunt smoke and alcohol are the only things
You feed ’em
(Talkin’ ’bout food for thought)
And you say we free
Livin’ on the edge waitin’ to get pushed
Black on black crime is reachin’ an all-time high
In the record books
It’s hard to focus on the path ahead
When you always have to give your shoulder an overload
And you say we free
Lack of self-motivation keepin’ brothas
In altercation lack of destination
Leads to no demonstration
For our youth so they think entertainment
Is the only thing you can do
And if we free
Why we livin’ with no sense of reality
Young brothas dyin’ fast ’cause they want
Respect like your majesty
And you say we free
But in all actuality we still
Livin’ in slavery minus the visual chains
Now society holds us captive with
Visuals to the brain it’s a shame
How jingles make people go insane
Dismantle their frame
And you tellin’ me we free
Most people speak love but don’t
Live love and love for each
Other will take the shackles off
Our feet
Now ask yourself
Are you
Free?

– Eric Foster

This poem is featured in the exhibition This Place Called Poetry.