I don't worry, I tell you I am a man who believed that I died 20 years ago And I live like a man who is dead already I have no fear whatsoever of anybody or anything Southern trees, fallen leaves Strange fruit, bitter seeds Sewn into the scorched earth Witnesses at my birth Said I should've been aborted, propaganda they reported Taught that I was prone to violence so they liked to draw me wild'n Eating watermelon in a cage on monkey island The self-portrait is of suffering and smiling Raised on table scraps White cotton, bent blacks Overseer riding by Whip in hand horseback Read between the lines and see the centuries of blood Dripping to the soil making Alabama mud And California love can't erase these thoughts So I'm sitting here writing out my pain in a park Feeling like I just passed through the darkest of darks The humble mockingbird awaiting now the song of the lark Been wading in the water and praying for dawn's light Baptized in the fire so my eyes shine bright I don't worry, I tell you I am a man who believed that I died 20 years ago And I live like a man who is dead already I have no fear whatsoever of anybody or anything Singing a song called bruised in the key of blues Dark berries, bittersweet, rocking dirty shoes Worn out souls From marching towards freedom Feet blistered for the Victory of sitting & eatin Complex now The struggle can't explain how It's black face on television Selling dope with a smile The blood of former slaves around my way Pitching powder to the flock that followed MLK And hey, we still cattle getting herded by the gentry Looking for the promised land at best you get deferred entry Last poet My mouth is an African drum Find the rhythm in the silence Beat it out with my tongue And my cast iron, got the heart of a lion The blood of the lamb, the scriptures in the palm of my hand You can read it when I lay my Ms across your chest I be the final revelation of that gospel text Run, nigga, run The pater's gonna get you Run, nigga, run You gotta get away That nigga run, that nigga flew Nigga lost his Sunday shoes Run, nigga, run The pater's gonna get you Run, nigga, run You gotta get way