I Am the City: the Being

Words unsaid can be undone
And in this way our liberty's forgone
Are we so abandoned in our quest for the throne
That we leave each other starved, carved and alone?
That we remain quiet in the face of adversity
In hopes that there is still a round-about way to own the city
What you fail to see 
Is that the city is me

A thought unspoken goes unheard
It is like an unsolved crime
Where for a time, the criminal is you
Why do you not speak, but fester instead
With this confession rotting inside of your head
Think not, want not.
You've made your thinking so breezy
That you've made it easy
For the media to pull a fast one on you
I shall scream it until I'm hoarse.
When and why did the war against terror change its course?
Because they're traitors? 
Because of treason? 
To what cause?
Treason is just reason, with a cross in front of it
Think about it

And still, the question is unanswered, like so many others.
When did curfew begin to extend past the street lights?
When did guns begin to define a fair fight?
When did learning become memorization?
When did pharmaceuticals begin to run the nation?
When did black on black violence become a second rate topic in rap?
Replaced by the conformity of uptowns and throwbacks and caps?
When did nineteen become the average High School graduation age?
When did teen pregnancy set the stage for the commonplace?
When did Latinas forget that sexiness is more than an outfit?
When did New York become so counterfeit?
When, when or more importantly why?
And perhaps I will believe no answer, because…

My thoughts design me, but 
It is my voice that defines me 
And I am what society is afraid to see
I am a 30 line long side effects warning label
I am the lesson in Aesop's fables
I am the contradicting line in your history book
I am beauty that warrants a second look
I am the reason for which lightly you tread
Because I am the voice inside of your head
I simply am
I am the reason you hate and love the city
But what you fail to see
Is that the city is me
Copyright © | Year Posted 2006


Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Be the first to comment on this poem. Encourage this poet.

Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Reflection on the Important Things

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter