Do I LOVE my city
As much as anyone can love an inanimate object
I am PROUD to say,
“I started being a citizen of this Earth
A resident of this universe
there.”
Great and revolutionary is the company I'm amongst.
You know his name
The cat that was proud and black
The genus namesake that saw it in all of us
The genus namesake that fought for and taught us how to fight the fight
He came from the block I'm from
They told him he was from Berkeley
Some said Emeryville
He made the city of Oakland household
I wont be like others
Not mention how bullets fly in number like seagulls at the dump
Not mention how the mayor would rather pose for a picture
Has no comment or just lies when asked,
“What’s the plan to stop people’s loved ones from dying before the age of old?”
I wont be like others
Not mention how corruption runs so deep it possess arterial veins
Not mention how children that live a block away from schools can not attend them
The city sold them to another and no one seems to care
Not mention how gentrification is an institutionalized city program
Not mention legendary pimps and drug dealers
Coffins carried away by carriages
Pimps so famous movies change their names.
I will mention
Oakland was the place to hear Jazz on the west coast
Before the post office came with imminent domain
I will mention
Oakland’s level of artistic talent still resides it pulsates the air
Slams, open mic nights, and comedy shows
Three men that called themselves Tony
Or was it Toni
Maybe it was Toné
Sistas that were always En Vouge
We all knew where Mr. Cooper lived
Controversial Todds and their height
Dancing hammers that were too legit to quit asking if you had seen her
Oakland was the place where 357 girls went wild and loose
Had you going crazy saying,
“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah”
Brothas that were Luniz and had five on whatever you had
Krazy dudes times three that now preach
Least we forget a man that taught us how to do the humpty hump
Introduced the world to a man speak on how he got around
I remember when Will Smith and Whoopi made that movie at tech
My friend’s cousin’s sisters’s best friend’s ex swears he was in it
I will mention
Festivals at the lake and the lake its self
I wish every year the festivals would come back
I will mention
Little hole in the wall places that make the best cup of coffee you’ll ever get outside of
Ethiopia or maybe Eritria
Bookstores carrying the name of Marcus
The memory of a Soul that carried a Beat long before
Black entertainment was bastardized by television
Like Romans we too have our own Coliseum
We watched the A’s battle like green and gold gladiators
We cheered regardless if the Raiders won or loss
Cares were tossed into a black hole
for a day
When people mention
Harlem
Chicago
Atlanta
New York
I say
This is not
The city across the bay
This is
Oakland
©Christopher F. Brown 2013
