The Neighborhood

This poem is about the past and current state of the racial divide between blacks and whites in America.

I walk down the street,

This sight that I behold.

To the left I see ashes,

Remains of burning coal.

To the right I see a mountain,

Built from centuries of snow.

How do we mend the broken homes,

The broken hearts, the broken souls?

Some say you mend it with knowledge,

Some say it's mended with money or time,

Some say that you mend it with love,

But alone, none of that will survive.

The neighborhood divided,

The damage has been done.

To mend it or to leave it,

Which choice will make us one?

Do people even want to?

To lend a helping hand?

As long as both do not reach out,

No one will understand...

When cast into poverty, bondage, and hate,

You're given a message that's hard to forget.

They cut off your bonds, but it's far too late,

For the true bonds are still there, cultural torment.

They trade hatred for ignorance, gradual in years,

But ignorance does nothing better, still deaf in the ears.

They struggle to let go of their mountain of gold,

While you struggle to forget both your poverty and that mountain,

Are a product of your ancestors being bought and sold.

They forget not what happened, but what it had done.

Not the ones affected, it happened long ago,

You shape the ashes into hope, then place it in above,

While they dance ignorant in their luxury, on top their mountain of snow.

The neighborhood divided,

The damage has been done.

To mend it or to leave it,

Which choice will make us one?

Do people even want to?

To lend a helping hand?

As long as both do not reach out,

No one will understand...

People will never ask the right questions,

It ain't who but what's the villain at play.

It isn't ash or snow, it's whether or not you know

About the greed, the ignorance, the hate.

Love does nothing if you're ignorant and starving,

Knowledge does nothing if you're starving and hated.

Money does nothing if you're hated and ignorant.

Time does nothing but let everything fester.

Only together can these things start true change.

The next time you question the other side of the street,

Just remember what is standing underneath your feet.

Both sides isolated, unable and unwilling to understand,

For both are still blinded by ignorance, greed, and hate,

Each reason is the same, just labeled under a different brand.

Things will never change, unless you change the self-fulfilling fate.

The neighborhood divided,

The damage has been done.

To mend it or to leave it,

Which choice will make us one?

Do people even want to?

To lend a helping hand?

As long as both do not reach out,

No one will understand...