I am striving to change lives

I desire to stare into 17-year-old eyes

and speak the truth.

Corruption surrounds us,

bad decisions seem so easy, like

Should I sell this weed?

Should I be easy?

Should I be a slut to make every guy happy?

That must be why my dad wished he never had me.

Should I just drop out and get a job?

Young black males wasting talent becoming slobs,

just because your parents didn’t guide you,

doesn’t mean you don’t have a support group behind you,

you must

strive,

hustle,

grind

and fight.

Get a goal and peruse it with all of your might,

don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t be,

--and that’s anyone, not even me.

I want to speak to the minds of young children with wild thoughts,

because I was once a child on a pathway to failure but I fought.

All it took was one speech to change my ways.

I was that kid smoking but now I see better days.

I was that kid womanizing but now I have one woman

and I’m always surprising, her with the things she deserves.

I do my best to be a real man, because that’s a dying species so

I must do what I can, do what I can

    to save this nation,

   to save the next generation.

How to get my voice heard?

How to get my message out? 

I know—I’ll be a teacher,

preaching everything I’m talking about,

   coaching at the same time,

   preaching my message,

   changing children’s minds.

   Changing children’s lives.