Life

Troubled teen struggles growing up in an urban, violent environment.

Where I'm from, they don't chase dreams, they chase tail
No tickets to freedom, just tickets to jail
Parents living in the projects, spending all their money on bail
Youth drop out of school &sell drugs, the one thing they couldn't fail.

When life hands you cards, you either fold or keep playing
You can take another hit, or pick up the Mac and start spraying
My grandma told me keep praying, and yeah it was a struggle
Always walking with my head down to avoid all the trouble
&still I got jumped, cause they all saw the weakness
But after my grandma passed was when I was the weakest

Not because it continued to happen, but I began to attack
Got tired of being shot at, so I began to shoot back
The loss of my grandma left me numb to all the blood I was spilling
Started selling and killing, to ease all of the pain I was feeling

I was a lost cause, didn't care what anyone said to me
But look at grandmas boy now, being charged with a felony
It wasn't worth it, cause either way; you're dead
If you don't die in the street, you'll die in the courtroom instead
Once you get that sentence is when you take your last breath
Cause being sentenced to life is like being sentenced to death…

Reviews

[Lucien Maier]

It starts strong, but feels a little lost in the end. Maybe go through it again with an eye on the message you want the piece to convey.

[Angela Hunter]

Wow, this is powerful. There are certainly lines packed with meaning, like "being sentenced to life is like being sentenced to death." The rhyming creates a good flow, but with a little tweaking here and there, it could become a great flow. This poem really tells a story; I like it!