And I've read to many books
To be distracted from the mirror, when unhappy with my looks
And I ain't got proper diction, for the makings of a thug,
Though I grew up in the ghetto, and my brothers all sold drugs
And though that may validate me for a spot on MTV
Or get me all the airplay, that my bank account would need
I was hoping to invest in, a lesson that I learned
When I thought this fool would jump, just because it was my turn
I went to an open space cause I knew he wouldn't do it
Where somebody there could see him, or somebody else might prove it
And maybe in their eyes it may seem
I got punked out
Cause I walked a narrow path, and then went and changed my route
But that openness exposed me to a truth I couldn't find
In the clenched fists of my ego or the confines of my mind
In the hipness of my swagger, or the swagger in my step
Or the scowl of my grimace, or the meanness of my rep
Cause we represent a truth son, that changes by the hour
And when you're open to it,
Vulnerability is power
And in that shifiting form you'll find a truth that doesn't change
And that truth is living proof, of the fact that God is strange
Talk to strangers
When family fails and friends lead you astray
When Buddha laughs and Jesus weeps and turns out God is gay
As angels' and messiahs' love can come in many forms
In the hallways of your projects or the fat girl in your dorms
And when you finally take the time to see what they're about
Perhaps you'll find they're lonely or their wisdom trips you out
Maybe you'll find the cycles end
You're back where you began, but come this time around
You'll have someone to hold your hand
Who prays for you, who is there for you
Who sends you love and light,
Exposes you to parts of you
That once you tried to fight
And come this time around you choose to walk a different path
You'll embrace what you turned away and cry at what you laughed
Because that's the only way we're going to make it through this storm
Where ignorance is common sense and senseless is the norm
And flags wave high above the truth,
And the two never touch
And stolen goods are overpriced and freedom costs too much
And no one seems to recognize the symbols come to life
The bitten apple on the screen and Jesus had a wife
And she was his messiah like that stranger may be yours
Who holds a subtle knife that carves through worlds like magic doors
And that's what I've been looking for
The bridge from then to now
Just watching BET like, "What the fuck, son, this is foul"
But that square box can represent
The sphere that we live in,
The earth is not a flat screen
I ain't trying to fit in
But this ain't for the underground this here is for the sun
A seed a stranger gave to me and planted on my tongue
And when I look at you, I know I'm not the only one
As a great man once said, "There's nothing more powerful than an idea
Whose time has come."
