Raise Up

Location

Into the woods of every city

patty cakes are made by bakers men with affections for pyrex and bitter soda 

thunderous claps insight a familiar shuffle 

the bell is broken

an avalanched of witnesses 

 

7,000 bodies incased in a silhouette of chalk 

 

painted lines   

would guide you to believe 

in a defined structure 

but this chaos assures you 

tomorrow is not promised 

that is 

 

1 million

or 1/5 

or every 26 secs 

however you were taught to do ratios

 7,000 kids day drop out of school 

there is a rise in number of children

who have run out of options 

 

 

could you imagine the quadratic formula for  this  slippery slope 

when these plotted points don’t connect the dots to a graphic life 

 

we need better math 

statistics that don’t bring about a great depresstion

a social studies where the underdog wins one 

 

How can I explain 

that it is hard to cross the stage when you have to corss enemy lines to get there

that you can not fill the empty bellies of your family with food for thought

 

children are taught to think 

never how to speak 

only when spoken to 

never when spoken about

it is time raise their hands

 their voices 

it is time stand 

for the one million who have fallen 

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