The Village

The village, the village The village, the village The village Save the village The village, the village The village, the village Heal the village Heal the village The village Clustered connections concentrated in centralized locations Varying last names, age ranges, social status, vocations Commingled generations, old to new school, bebop to R&B Hip-Hop, gospel, jazz, and blues, vibing to the beat All thriving trying to survive, colliding, sliding into each other, vocalizing, harmonizing Different familial voices that acquiesce and coalesce to one accent The village Powerful people populating problematic premises Under uneven umbrellas uncovering unbalanced upbringings Politics, philosophes, morals, religions An oil and water mix somehow blended Together, fused foundations founded upon common unity Supposed support sustaining community Despite spite, slights, strife, slicing division Surgical incisions incensed, tensions from social status and hierarchical classes Go-getters versus average Joes versus underachieving loafers Jealous one's envy wasted chances to advance Internal anger engulfs the little they have due to lack Seething over what they see others gained The village Bonded in love through umbilical cords to our mothers Prepared for the world through the guidance and respect of our fathers Houses with strong foundations beautified with precious adornments Nurturing nuances needed, necessary navigation through nights and days Calmly comforted cancelling calamity, cautiously caressed by caring creators The village Young minds molded; life choices predisposed By the roles parents uphold, elements criminal corrode Innocence intentional, individuals inherit incorporated ideologies Hugging the block tighter than two lovers long goodbye Allusions to the fate these thugs embrace Either held forever inside a coffin or the correction of a prison cell The village Where we learn how to ball on courts with hot cement and tight rims Figuring out when to pass, or ball hog, no I in team but an I's in him Recreation turns into obsessive dedication Visions of hitting game winners, the crowd goes wild All while surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins cheering Laughing while also giving tips and correcting form for the shot The village The first place of controlled conflict Where playing the dozens can turn into throwing the five Where hot hands were served in scraps to fight Cliques formed against foes testing our might Additionally, a breeding ground of disappointment The team thought tough and tightly truly disjointed Discovering those claiming to be family were fallacies False friends fictitiously flaunting fondness The first backstabbers, first liars, first thieves First ones to break the hearts on our sleeves The village Racism drives as White society tries to deride the Black family Injecting poison to the mind which decries lies meant for dismantling Flooding media with negative images depicting hoeing and pimping Glorification ignoring achievements, displaying losers as winning Using entertainers to entertain inner pain baptized in bitter water Satisfying lust for distrust, dysfunction, and disorder The village No obstacle or opposition too overwhelming to not overcome We fight with the heart of a champion Getting back up when knocked down seven times Furiously finishing the fight, seeing a glimmer of light Blinding the face of the Grim Reaper Telling him he can't kill us or our future The village, the village, the village Heal the village Save the village Heal the village Need the village The village, the village The village, the village, the village The village