hold me accountable those that came before me, started this story showing me how to grow disappointed, with most of the appointed i branched off, to stand tall saluting heaven; your son's a man ma though three decades & some change is nothing, compared to grandma still, change is contagious & here i am centerstage, with thoughts of grandeur my president paves the way & sets the standard, of what not to stand for before him… sadly, a bad daddy, comedians, musicians, athletes i'd expand more, if i was sure, you had the stomach for, tragedies pardon my candor from plantations to my generation, we so misguided without hesitation, saying no, means we'd be lying so, yeah, more than likely, you hear me trying all my wrongs, i've righted while enlightened psalms recited; nightly while crying whenever led astray, folded fingers in my palms tightly; fighting as i pray lacing angel wings upon my poems; writing saying things you don't hear in songs; fighting to heal these scars, & unfold these arms, to steer this car away from, where all these mirrors are & face the world, or at least my fears; finding a clearer star overwhelmed, i'm scarred, with pride & anxiety saying bye to an angry black guy, inside of me; dying me on this day of atonement, tossing my stone in, causing ripples in this river too with a clearer view, this moment's bigger than pivotal too often life's my opponent; as a grown man, it's shown me... it's livable.