a poem by Saul Williams, spoken word artist and musician. If you are not familiar with him, his website is http://www.saulwilliams.com

When the Storm is Forgotten

When the storm remains distant We are heroes of complacency Puffed chest and swollen pride We hate ourselves in ways Only the deepest love could recognize

When the storm remains distant There is no such thing as us There is only dollar and dynamite Gunpowder and fiery God The churches are filled with women and children The men pray only in case of emergency We worship a foreign truth And only death will stamp our passport

When the storm remains distant There is no afterlife Most die unborn Most live unloved Disappointment takes on new names and costumes The future is stillborn and disfigured The womb becomes an airtight safe Darkness swallows darkness

When the storm remains distant Nothing is as is Songs are opiates Sleep is the burial ground of dreams Happiness is a lie Sex is where love is not

When the storm remains distant We are unreminded and dare to forget School is a fashion show Violence is comfort food Family is nothing And nothing is real

When the storm remains distant Niggas are free to be Niggas Niggers, Black, you name it

Anything but one thing Everything but nothing Even with a shitload of platinum Wrapped around his neck Like a southern tree gone petrified Screw face pearly gate-mouth Tangled nectar of the stars

When the storm remains distant Stars are retired drug dealers nicknamed God Rapists with pretty voices And anyone but anyone who shines

When the storm remains distant The sun is flawless in its magnitude The heavens reflect breath of angels The people bask in themselves The storm is forgotten

When the storm is forgotten The waters, 'though they rise, Fail to threaten The people march backwards from ashes to ashen, Whiplash, car crash, Cash Money, Some Niggas eat diamonds for breakfast Pursue cheap labor, Enslave God

When the storm is forgotten Poets are meteorologists Behold, the farmers almanac The sheep wake up and congregate The litany begins

When the storm is forgotten The struggle ends

May the storm never be forgotten.