Joe Metro

I reach beneath the skin of the street with each step

Walkin' closer to my final destination of death

When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin' my breath

The Northwest fills the lungs, heals the pain in my chest

Take six quarters out of the pocket

Drop it in the box

Hop the 48, off to pay homage

It stops often, I jot my observations, watchin'

Citizens walkin' off of the Joe Metropolitan

Proletariats and wayward sons

With old Filipino men speakin' in they native tongue

And the day is just begun

Greeted by the scent of a bum

Smelling something like beer, barf, and dung

A brother in repose in the back all alone

Marinatin' in a pair of half-broken headphones

Muddled in rhymes

Same time begin to pen mine

Appreciating God's design

Rewind sister

Reminds me of a smile in the back of my memory

Wonder if I'll see her again

Will she remember me?

"I'm not tryin' to holler, I swear. I'm just weary of the way we hop a ride

And just sit there and stare."

Prepare for my nine o' clock work meeting

A couple pale folks slide right by with no greeting

But the people with my phenotype follow with a head-nod up

Because we acknowledge that the shit's fucked up

North of Martin Luther King: a straight warzone

Detours through the concrete, cranes, and bulldozers

No, the Hill is not over still

Every block got a coffee shop; it's overkill

Focus, know the deal

Dope to see Kalil back, the medicine is good again

The feeling: illegal, and coming back to your hood again

It's priceless, I write this, our lives are in crisis

Most talk, but don't walk, the path of the righteous

Despite this...

I measure each step, walkin' closer to my final destination of death

When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin' my breath

The Northwest fills my lungs, heals the pain in my chest

Clutch the moment, a transfer in my hand

Still listening

Lookin' out the window to the gold and the gray

And the sun might be shinin' but it's colder than it seems

'Cause the weather's dialectical: there's no in-between

In walks an old soul

A First Nation native, cat's chiseled like a totem pole

No words, as he stands and looks over us

He gets off and says, "Have a good day, you foreigners."

I, crack a smile one time for the acknowledgement

Northbound, now we start to pick up more college kids

They try to study on the ride

To make up for the fact that they probably kicked it hard last night

And I ponder if it's time to save up and get a car

And pay for the gas that we're takin' from the war

I'd miss all the colorful faces, the places, and spaces I've embraced with

The faith that I can rest and raise kids here even with these cats set

Trippin'

Bringin' '95 back again, same old conditions

From Reagan, to Bush, to Clinton, to the Bush the 2nd

No matter the neighborhood in the city you're reppin'

It's gettin' serious y'all

You can even hear the rebel call

Gettin' off, leavin' hella pieces on the walls

Seen it all, sittin' sideways with my townmates

Only place left where majority is brown-faced

Now we headed downtown to trade our labor for cash

I thank the navigator once and walk fast

I walk past the next round of cats to jump on it

Locked in deep thought, we ride around in silence

And cross Resolve Bridge

I watch each step, walkin' closer to my final destination of death

When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin' my breath

The Northwest fills the lungs, heals the pain in my chest

I remain blessed, steppin' on rain with each step

Eyes heavy from the lack of the cousin of death

When I'm layin' to rest, I'm only savin' my breath

The Northwest fills the lungs y'all, you know the rest...