Graduation Day!

January 23rd, 2009 | By Sonnie Johnson

Studies complete

Graduation underway

See, We graduated from

slave chains to ghetto names

ghetto names to welfare claims

welfare claims to loaded guns

with shaky hands trying to aim

To gain, What?

We graduate from

Checkers to chess

chest to vest

Vest two shades lighter than jacket

color coordinated with caskets

Cause we’re fly to death

But what’s left?

We have no problem graduating from

20 sacks to pounds

pounds to sounds

stories shaping what we sought out

and found

Hip Hop to music dumbed down

A silent ceremony?

We’ve went through

No shoes to borrowed soles

burdened souls to name brand clothes

credit cards to payday loans

no job but never lacking minutes on phone

You’ve got a text! Sender unknown

We’ve covered

no rights to the 15th

15th to silence

silence to civil diobedience

to riots and violence

In neighborhoods we call home

So now I have a question

Are we progressing or degressing?

In this lesson

I implore

Graduate to something more

Say,

whips and chains to lessons of the past

History of our ancestors to morals that last

hate and injustice to those with no sin be the first to cast

stones at the glass house

Or How about

Mother’s struggles to daughter’s ambition

Father’s absence to son’s mission

Victim to survivor transition

For you are not alone

Maybe

poor to credit worthy

credit worthy not because of government survey

but because your credit score is 700 or more

Let’s try

Fly to debt free

debt free to less stress

less stress to better health

Insurance cost is less

Or just for fun

my vote doesn’t count to massive political clout

political clout to massive turn out

Massive turn out to Black Man in the White House

Anything is possible.

It’s Graduation Day.