Waiting for Change

Even the moon cries in the bowels of night
when it’s full of empty shadows. Where?
Where have all the children gone? Alleys
always hide their dead in dumpsters.
They thrash with rats and roaches
for the fast food fries among the trash—
the plastic forks and broken knives, the dirty
needles, and the lies of absent fathers,
and of mothers drunk on drugs.
Where have all the children gone? Under
the would-be moon, the lonely wolf
now ululates still searching. Still searching.
Suffer not the little children.

Venture with me, back to the past, dripping my story on the beat like candle wax
See my little light flicker doing my homework next to the kerosene lamp
Playing with Legos hear echoes like an earthquake stomach rumbling
Laughing to keep from crying through hard times wasn’t nothing funny
Seeing a dude that wasn’t my dad come in the house hit my momma
Hating this shotgun shack, my bathroom that had no plumbing
Dad lying about he coming, go to school get laughed at
My hair nappy, clothes dirty, only one there who could see past that
Got shot, killed, is this even real, God gotta be mad at me, insanity grabbing me
Feeling naked, molested, by these tragedies, need a strategy
Fate made me hate my parents, views on em constantly shifting
Face washed in rain water, lookup pain I’d be the description
Since, I realized kin, could sometimes be my worst enemies I
Made up my mind to live no matter who believed I would die
Wishing I wasn’t born, wishing family would have came and took me
In, like a nose their eyes always overlooked me

Chorus:
Waiting, disguising all his frowns with a smile
Contemplating, what it is that he will eat when his stomach growls
Or escaping, poverty, given no chance to get out
Grow impatient; waiting for change, his future’s filled with clouds, clouds, clouds
Keep hoping things don’t stay the same,
Still know some things will never change
Keep hoping things don’t stay the same, stay the same
Still know some things will never change, never change

Still searching, still searching, the big-eyed
hoot owl beckons in the field of night.
Where have all the children gone? Hiding
like a mouse between the straw and dirt.

Where’s the love, Mom addicted to drugs looking for crack in the rug
Dad chose to grip liquor bottles instead of giving hugs
No lights no heat in winter, so cold who knows his pain
With a cup and a sign I feel like I was waiting for change
TOYS R’ US kid, see he didn’t want to grow up
Parentified as child, grown before he grew up
Grown up decisions, dealing with these drug addictions
Adding dealers to his hitlist, don’t you think I’ll forget this
Poor child defenseless, powdered eggs and government cheese
Cheese rarely smile for cameras why would he want time to freeze
Freeze as a kid never knowing what he would grow to be
Be-cause of these experiences he’s feeling so vengeful wasn’t allowed to dream
Dream of the day he’d get you all back for what happened to him
Watching from a distance you trash a life not promised to him
Death met his protectors friends and family resurrect them
Feeling so morbid the storm is coursing through him see…

Chorus:
Waiting, disguising all his frowns with a smile
Contemplating, what it is that he will eat when his stomach growls
Or escaping, poverty, given no chance to get out
Grow impatient; waiting for change, his future’s filled with clouds, clouds, clouds
Keep hoping things don’t stay the same,
Still know some things will never change
Keep hoping things don’t stay the same, stay the same
Still know some things will never change, never change

Still searching, still searching, the loon calls
deep into the dark for the coming of the light.
Where have all the children gone? Into the light,
into the light, into the dark and hungry light.

Was I sent here to suffer, I can’t have normal conversations
Been waiting all my life, you’ll say I’m procrastinating
Homicidal thoughts of killing time for-not healing my wounds
And these suicidal thoughts attack my mind I feel-like I’m losing it
Mosquitoes buzzing in my ears on the hottest nights
So called family members still the biggest parasites
Can’t get ahead, nobody carry they own weight
Makes me want to cut ties, bleed out on a dinner plate
I had to buy my shoes too big, to grow into em
Never knew when I would get a new pair, let me get ya used ones
That kid at school, thankful for them food drives
Pumping gas, cutting grass, swallow my pride I survived
Wonder why, people act like they can’t see till they doctor’s patients
Back to my days on them South Memphis streets and my first 40 ate them
Starved for an ear listen, this aint exaggeration
Violence, try to silence my voice, See I’m just a kid that was…

Chorus:
Waiting, disguising all his frowns with a smile
Contemplating, what it is that he will eat when his stomach growls
Or escaping, poverty, given no chance to get out
Grow impatient; waiting for change, his future’s filled with clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds
Keep hoping things don’t stay the same, stay the same
Still Searching
Know there’s a kid waiting for change
Keep hoping things don’t stay the same, stay the same
Where have all the children gone
Know there’s a kid waiting for change