[Pssp!] What happened to the dream?

By Rodney D. Coates, 1998

Pssp!!
 what happened to the dream?
 
..

 someone died, many cried
 a whole bunch of folks lied
 ...
 Martin, Malcolm, Medger
 —too many to name too many to remember
 ...
 crack...
 heroin...
 speed still kills...
 aids...
 despair...
 .
 shot gun blast in the mid-night air
 ...
 too many have died
 ...
 ...
 mothers, all, sisters, fathers, brothers
 somebody’s aunt or uncle–
 grands and all cried
 ...
 ...
 shedding tear after tear
 because of needless death
 needless lives
 and needless alibies
 ...
 -and so they cried
 ...
 ...
 politicians, teachers, preachers, leaders
 —fools for a day, a week, or forever
 continue to lie
 ...
 lies compiled upon lies
 another one died
 so we cried
 ...
 but they continuously lied
 ...
 ...[Pssp!]
 what happened to the dream?
 ...
 ...
 dreams for sale, cotton bells
 sistah gonna beat brother to jail
 ...
 ...
 cracked dreams on a whacked out scream
 to beat all others to the grave
 ...
 gotta go get that blow
 ...
 gotta get that dream to go
 ....... dreams to go
 ...
 dreams at the end of your arm
 ...
 in that pipe
 ...
 smoke boy
 ...get that high
 ...
 dreams to go....
 dreams to go....
 ...
 ...
 ...
 sistahs gonna beat, brothers gonna keep
 –them old blues away
 this day those dreams turned blue
 ...
 turned blue........
 ...
 ....... turned ......
 ...
 

---

Pssp!!
 what happened to the dream?
 
 ......
 I didn’t think, I didn’t act
 I didn’t keep on growing...
 ...
 I stopped
 marching
 ...
 I stopped
 learning
 ...
 I stopped
 dreaming
 ...
 I became the nightmare
 I destroyed the dream...
 ...
 ...
 and what are you doing for the dream...

umoja—rodneyc..