PoeticStreetz

I received a call today
That warranted my attention
See it had a local number on it
Which meant I didn’t need intervention
No masking my voice
Or ignoring the call
I thought it was a friend
Didn’t question it at all.

So I picked up the phone
Especially since it was my cell
Long distance usually means, collector,
Telemarketer or jail

When I picked up the line
My stomach sat in my throat
Cause when they started talking
I knew it wasn’t a joke

“Hello, may I speak to Bethesda Smithen?”

First off that’s not me
Should have capitalized on them
Not saying my name properly

Could have told them many things
Like they had the wrong person,
But I went on talking with them
Without even rehearsin’….

My regular man voice, or Chinese dialect
Or real ghetto slang like they speak in the projects
But instead I said like a moron….

“Speaking”

And that’s when they started seeking…
For what they would never acquire
This time I didn’t fake or make the mistake
Of becoming a liar

“I don’t have the money and
My insurance should have paid.”

“Well you can pay it now and take it up with
Them later to receive refund.”
That’s when I started to become…..
Angry

What part didn’t you understand?
Is it when I said I don’t have the money

Or…….

When I said I don’t have the money?

Cause when I said I don’t have it
That means I can’t pay to get a reimbursement
Dummy!

Are you hard of hearing
Or just plain stupid
I think it’s more ignorant
Cause that when they start
Getting ruthless
Talking loud and
Making threats about collections
But how many know I’m not stressing
The message
They’re conveying
Even if I had the money
And I told you I didn’t
That means I made up my mind
And I ain’t paying

But they don’t get it
So sometimes you have to provide
Interpretations
Like giving straight flagrant statements

And some people resort to using four letter
Words
I chose to make them proactive
By using verbs

Speak up!
I can’t hear you
Somethings wrong with your phone
Fix it
And then call me back

I was so elated today
That I had money in my account
Ate a full meal
Cleaned up my house
Went to kiss my babies and
Was doing oh so fine
Until I checked out my account
That said I didn’t have a dime
Instead I only got
Three red numbers.

Like sitting in the heat
With no water in the summer
Man I’m thirstin’ for money
And I just got paid
Now I’m mad at the rich
Who always got it made
Looking at movies
Mad at the stars
Cause they don’t have to be pressed
About bills and jobs
Every second of the day
To me is a surprise
And I don’t mean
When you walk in the house
And open your eyes….
To find out your having a party

Instead you find out,
You ain’t got no lights
And all you can eat for dinner
Is beans and rice
Kids need clothes
Baby needs milk
Can’t past the rental office
Cause you full of guilt
You’re back in your rent
You’ve been payin’ a little at a time
Praying to God
They won’t say that line….
You got until…

So you curse the government
They’ve done this to me
Got a sister or brother struggling hard to take care
Family

You’ve thought about it once
Then you think about it twice
I’m gonna quit my job
So I can get that nice….
Welfare check, section-8, Medicaid, and food stamps
Working Sucks!

(Close your mind’s eye for a moment
And walk with me through the Haiti aftermath)

Imagine the roof above
Becoming the ground you would tread upon,
In a matter of minutes.
And in an instant….
Fear had a relentless leash on your psyche.

And everything that you owned or place you called home
Seeped like sand in the crevices of your hands.

Can you see yourself?

Lying beside
Countless bodies that died,
As if you signed up to fight in a war?

Cause every step that you make
Is a deep intake……..
Of the stench of death that looms through the air…

Nowhere….is safe

Can you envision…
Your home being prison
And the people you live with
Going insane?

You want it to cease
But your nightmare remains….


See…

Hell is no longer a figment
Its now just inches
Away from your fingers…your nose,
And where darkness folds, it scoffs
While good memories taunt your emotional state.


Still you think of a getaway place in your head
To take your mind off the bread
That could possibly satisfy your hunger

Your daughter….

Is your fondest thought
But also the saddest

And as you remember your daughter’s cries
You look up your eyes
To hold back your tears of grief….,
Cover yourself with a cemented sheet
You use for comfort
Thinking why have I suffered
This terrible catastrophe.

I don't know if you have paid attention
But when the Iranian president spoke
No one seemed to listen
And now this tirade of US fame
Has faded into the background
When Iran and Israel speak
The world better listen,
'Cause they're talking real loud.

And this ain't no
You stole my girl/boy type of deal
This got God's name written all over it
Like when the waters congealed,
Peace was still and cats was lookin'
Like...what manner of man is this.....
Prophesies being fulfilled.

And I hope you get the gist of what I'm saying
Peeps serious about who they think God is
Will blow up stuff to prove who He is to them,
Cause they ain't playing
Israel saying they're building more stuff in East Jerusalem
Thought we had our grasp on them
And now we're losing them.

And I hope you know what this implies
Tension gon' rise, and blood's gon' find its
Way onto dry soil
Yet we been sitting around
Twiddling our fingers
Like this tea pot's not about to boil
Constantly covering it up with aluminum foil
And placing it into the microwave.

How many know that's a homemade hand grenade
About to blow,
Cause it's exactly what we're making
When we pretend like we don't know

Open your ears,
And I hope they're not itchin'
Since everything I'm about to say
You might not want to hear mentioned

This world is so close
To being at its end
Like a writer when he/she has fully captured
His/her voice and finally
Drops down the pen.

I hope you are well aware of the warning signs
Guess people are fine
As long as the sun shines
In their region.
Just like people don't care about the homeless
Until they're outdoors freezing

We may be in peace right now
But that doesn't mean it will stay that way
Sometimes when the sun is out
Immediately, the clouds turn gray
And......
A storm brews.

More coming soon, cause I'm out!

Condescending individuals
Who consider themselves to be Christian
That's why when the real ones speak up
No one's willing to listen
How can the very gospel of loving one another
Cause us to discriminate and ridicule each other?

There are things that we view as being sinful acts
Reject the sin, not the people
Those are the riveting facts....
Found in the bible, the book where Christ hung with the sinners
If we had it all together, why would He need to forgive us?
The mere fact that you judged, says you don't completely understand
That you are not perfect and have reason to be banned
From God's favor, just like the rest of society
Yet you try to defend your reasons
With the very improprieties
That you say you detest, and will not permit
Then I guess no one should enroll or even enlist

Cause all are subject to sin
That's why Christ died
The lamb of God slain and humbly crucified

The church doesn't have to agree
In order to embrace
Loving someone regardless of their decisions
Is how you erase
Barriers of injustice and feelings of inequity...
Separately,
We are nothing
If we can not convey
The love of God, with compassion
And in a loving way!

The world seems to be providing us ecological clues
From Hurricane Katrina, Haiti, to Tsunamis infused
Green house gases igniting the globe
Cats in the Middle East say they want to make it explode
Children and families living in destitution
Can't drink the water cause people constantly pollutin'
And that ain't the half, cause we contribute to this,
Never step back to savor the gift.

Instead, sit and ponder the next item to buy
While pedophiles try to lure kids with candy and lies
And all of this technology is starting to backfire,
So focused on The Touch, we forgot the touch in which we're hardwired
People don't have time for people anymore
I see us everyday, throwing a cold shoulder to the poor

Kids killin' kids
And schoolhouse violence
Subliminal messages of hatred
In the music but we buy it
Then say we can't understand when our children misbehave
A generation of delinquents
Even to the depraved

Somebody said I'm wrong
But I think this world's at its demise
Its corroded and molded
Like a dead corspe consumed in maggots and flies
I can't bare to see it continue on this path
And if it does, what will be the aftermath?

You tell me.