Investment

Hi, how are you? I hear you say

"Well actually I'm not ...." my words fade as you walk away

nobody asks the question with interest anymore

its a rhetorical question, offered no second thought

if we only stopped for a second and lived in the moment

we would understand the question and the importance

the flippancy of "You alright?"

is ingenuous and unbecoming to a persons plight

you could be the only contact and conversation they have all day

so consider that whilst you casually walk away

the next time you ask "You okay?" pause for a moment and wait

listen to the response and actually engage

© L. Blair

 

A gift of love

Pure, unconditional love is all I had to offer

I presented it in a perfectly wrapped box

I carefully placed a bow on the top

Addressed it to only you

I hand delivered it into your arms

I could see the delight as you opened it up

To find a piece of me that would only ever be yours

Yet you could never keep this gift safe

Over the years you were careless with my love

It has been dropped, broken, cracked and sometimes lost

The times you really cared for it was when you thought it was truly gone

You would search high and low until you obtained it again

But you never really understood what it was actually worth

The priceless possession that you had within the palm of your hands

Time has faded along with the sparkle of something new

I’ve observed your carelessness and your various games

I have seen you use it as a weapon and hold it to ransom

There have been moments you have revelled in knowing it belongs to you

Numerous occasions it has sat unprioritized in the corner with no use

I cannot take it back as when I gave it to you it was yours to keep

The only option I have is to walk away

I will not look back for you to see me weep

As I walk away I hear the gift crack and break

I leave it with you knowing it will never again be the same

It has lost its purity and the conditions have crept in

Although what is left will always belong to you

I can no longer be a witness to the mistreatment and misuse

What is left will eventually fade along with my tears

© L. Blair 

Rest In Eternal Peace Baby Boy

The tears fall from my ever-aching broken heart

As I hear the news of another soul who departs

Our Sons are being murdered on the streets

There is no justice, there is no peace

 

That’s my Son with the braids and baggy jeans

With the Jordan’s and the baggy tee

That’s my Son with the headphones and hoody

With the durag and cap, who calls me mommy

 

Prejudged on sight and forever a victim

We try our hardest to prepare and protect them

We give them the talk and make sure they know their rights

Being a black man is a lifelong fight

 

We send them out into the world and we hold our breath

Until they are safely back home we cannot rest

The institutions, the police, the government all play their domineering role

Only for our Son to be taken by one of our own

 

My heart bursts with tears as it ruptures and bleeds

Where did we fail? What did we not teach?

We could not keep you home and be with you all day

For you to grow and become a man we had to step away

 

Taking your life was not a choice for them to make

As parents I do not know how much more we can take

We never want to lose our son to these streets

But the lessons our Son is taught are not the same we all teach

 

The reality of the world is dismal and bleak

Children killing children are not words we should speak

Dying nameless, alone and with none of the comfort that only a parent can bring

Lives are being taken long before their calling

 

My heart breaks for you and for the eternal loss you feel

I wish you could wake up from your nightmare and for none of it to be real

Because when I see your baby and hear people report of ‘another one’

I comprehend the reality whereby that could be my Son

© L. Blair