Are you one of those parents who are gifted at making up words to songs in the middle of singing them? Maybe a better question is: do you have children under 5?  Many of those parents can’t dance. And it’s not just because of their upbringing.  They want to, but I just can’t; I’ve tried. Wait . . . oh, that’s right, I’m that guy.

However, I think I have rhythm.  I love poetry, whether reading or writing. I love hip-hop. I love music. Even some rap. And I really like spoken word. But what’s the difference? Aren’t they all poetry? And could one piece of poetry be hip-hop, music and spoken word depending on how fast it comes out and what music is behind it?

When I shared with some brothers recently, I wanted to call this “spoken word,” but it seemed a bit too cool of a genre for me. Because the majority of these guys knew rap and hip-hop, and could thrown down a rhyme better than me, I was a bit ashamed to even share what I wrote.  The irony was that it was capping a message on “Identity” to inmates who could resonate with the rhythmic tone more than other audiences probably could.  My perspective on my own identity almost withheld me sharing something that could relate to others’ better than my own identity could.  Oh, the paradox.

Nonetheless, here it is:9434755558_aafe3bfff1_z

There’s so much more
That you can be.
Yet it is not up to thee
To be a parolee.

It’s not about what you’ve achieved
Much more about what you believe
Chains you have been set free
Slave no more, an escapee

See, Jesus died on a tree
For you and me
What held you from peace
You can be set free.

But don’t be a retiree or lazy
For you are forever a trainee
It’s not just a freebie
You must be an enlistee

No more a detainee
From sin you have liberty
Careful to become an abductee,
Cause from sin you gotta flee,

Hear this and disagree
I say simply back “Really?”
It’s not just a maybe
Brother, it’s a guarantee

We’re all a potpourri
Whose sin makes us amputees
But the Cross’s Surgery
Doesn’t leave us in a gurney

You’ll feel like a deportee
In the world, the one you see on TV
But Regardless of your fam-i-ly
By Christ you are an adoptee

Judgment might be your ability
But don’t try to be referee
Sure we all act like a flea
But that’s part of the beauty.

With flesh don’t be a licensee
Or heaven you’ll be an absentee
So get on your knees,
Forget your self, say please

No it won’t be easy
To follow Jesus wholeheartedly
But you need not be lonely
You’ve got guys here who are ancillary

Abide in God the J.C.
And graft into Him like a tree
You are a child, an honoree
And in Him must rest all your identity.

– 12/7/14

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