The Rift
The place where it all began. The place that brought us happiness…or so we thought. The place that gave us comfort, security, and love. The Rift brought us a fortune and the means to wonder the world and separate evil from the sincere. The Rift brought about innocence, a herd of lamb, and the means to live. It brought life. Unfortunately, it also brought death… and death is unforgivable.
I am graffiti
You may know me by the hatred you bear
You may know me from the beautiful streets you once happened to walk on
You may recognize me from the news you control ever so…diligently
You may recognize me from the wall you stared at whilst a single tear rolled down your cheek
ever
so
slowly
We might happen to share identical features including…colors
But that is where our similarities come to an end
Our conflict lies within our differences
I know an incredible amount about you sir, I think it’s time you got to know just as much about
me
I am a message that should be acknowledged
I am art blinded by a curse from the past
I am ballistic expression
I am admirable
I am despicable
I am beauty coated by the viscid and dark paint of YOUR paintbrush atop MY canvas
I represent the aftermath of the bloodshed you waged on the land where lambs and mockingbirds reside
I will be an immortal representative
I will never cease to exist
I am an eternal flame
I am the people
I am merely words yet one should be reminded that
still water
runs
deep
I am truth written in colours
I am truth written in style
I am a voice of the people
My message will stay for a while
Can you really say the same?
In school, there was a boy who hated what he saw.
Was it the atmosphere? The ambience? maybe it was the call
of teachers telling him he wasn’t smart enough, wasn’t good enough.
Yet this boy stayed, no he didn’t depart.
He took it to heart and spent the rest of the day in shame.
The boy cursed her name on the way back home until there were no more steps to take or dreams to break.
And I say dreams because this boy had dreams, oh he had some big dreams.
In fact, this boy daydreamed constantly.
Pouring all his passion, love, and thought into fantasies that may or may not become a reality.
But It was an escape from the solitary environment where he couldn’t create.
The next day he returns to school, hoping he learns the tools to be what he wanted.
He was taunted with worksheet after worksheet,
dozens of questions.
He hated it all, whether it was review or lessons.
“Why does he live this way?”
“Why does he live at all?”
These are what his teachers say to him on a daily basis.
Because they don’t understand the dreams this boy dreamt
They don’t understand the competition this boy carried
They don’t understand the future he fights for
They don’t understand the salvation he sought
They don’t understand.
His life was a mess
All he wanted was to turn it around instead of turning it off because he knew he was worth more than a blade cutting into his soft skin or a noose wrapped around his throat.
His dreams were too big
Yet they were so small
This boy wanted to prove them all wrong, wanted to show the futility of the education he was held captive in.
His dreams were worth more than school
He wanted to show them that he had a place in this world
But…then why do people hate him for this?
Last night this boy had an epiphany.
One that rocked him to the very core of his existence
An exhilarating thrill shook up his spine and throughout his body.
Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
Maybe his dreams were truly worth nothing
But these thoughts were not without reason
History has repeated itself over and over again
If each individual was destined to be great then why is there such a big disparity between people?
Why have we not yet achieved universal peace?
Why do we resent what we do not understand?
If you believe racial profiling is a thing of the past, then you probably don’t know who Treyvon Martin is
…
The world is a cruel place
Your dreams will be shattered and you will be lost
Years upon years of living an optimistic lifestyle has given this boy nothing but a false ray of hope beaming down upon him like was standing on the stage of tragedy
It was not the kind of spotlight he had in mind
However
He saw now
People hated him because he wanted to change these sayings
He would ruin the norm
He would be superior
This was the attitude that changed the world, generation after generation
Einstein, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Thomas Edison, Marilyn Monroe have all had this attitude
This boy realized he was destined for greatness no matter what the crowd has to say and no matter where the spotlight lands
It is just a matter of time before each and every individual realizes this
Until then, let there be hate in this world
This was an epiphany this boy would never forget.