I (My City is a Science)
The Arch's elevator follows the rules of gravity
It rises at it's maximum speed,
Slowing down as it reaches the top,
Stops
Looks around,
Descends,
And reaches the ground at the same speed
Until it hits the brakes.
II (My City is a Burden)
She wrote my tombstone at age 15,
Said that I would be buried on top of her
She said that I was more than a child to her,
That I would be able to protect her
To defend her,
I want to love her,
But the bullies at school have those "momma" jokes
And sometimes, they're right,
And sometimes, I feel my eye twitch
And I know this isn't the way it's supposed to be
III (My City is a Protector)
My city cries water,
My city cries leaves,
My city cries liquor,
My city cries weed,
My city cries blood
My city cries needs
My city cries contacts
My city cries weave
My city cries anger
My city cries breeze
My city cries murder
My city cries pleads
My city cries drug deals,
My city cries fees
My city cries rivers
My city dried me
IV (My City is a Trending Topic)
#FoolsInSTL holla at women like car alarms
#FoolsInSTL make metro rides a hassle
#FoolsinSTL wear forces with cargos
#FoolsInSTL never know when to stay away
#FoolsInSTL eat Chinese food made by black men
#FoolsInSTL have no business on our campus
#FoolsInSTL play jazz like prayers
#FoolsInSTL sing jazz like hymnals
#FoolsInSTL think they're real
#FoolsinSTL will hurt me if I look at them weird
RT @SuchAndSuch #FoolsInSTL have no business on our campus (<--COSIGN! LOLZ)
V (My City is a Zoo)
Years ago,
A popular dare at Washington University
Was to travel into the hoods of St. Louis
To see how far you could get
Without getting hurt.
It's like putting your hand into the tiger's cage,
Draped in scholarships and entitlement,
Which probably tastes like ribs
And waving at the tiger
Who's too afraid
To be put to sleep
For biting the hand
that taunts it.
Maybe I should be that tiger,
Grab you by the fingers
And slam you against the bars,
Let you remember how tigers are in the wild,
Let my fur run against your shaking arms
Snarl the same way lions do,
And let them stick a needle in my neck
Let me close my eyes
And know that the last thing I tasted
Was this.
VI (My City is a Bullet)
When a gun is fired into the air,
It begins traveling at it's highest speed,
Decreasing as it gets higher
Stopping in mid air.
It looks around,
Admires the view,
And falls
At the same speed it rose,
Until it lands
Somewhere.
VII (My City is a Nigga)
I am a St. Louis nigga,
I am Cardinal red nigga
I am pigs feet kind of nigga,
I am riverfront times kind of nigga,
I am imos pizza nigga
I am Mizzou fan nigga
I am twisties and beer type nigga
I am bullet-hole kiss dreads type nigga
I am tax-refund type-nigga
I am "stompin in my Air Force Ones" nigga,
I am not Nelly, nigga,
When's the last time you've seen St. Louis nigga
Say you live here, nigga,
Say this city neglects you, nigga,
Say it doesn't protect you, nigga,
Say you don't need it, nigga,
Say it doesn't need you, nigga,
Say it doesn't affect you nigga
Nigga
I am St. Louis, nigga
VIII (My City is a City)
A friend of mine said
the Delmar Loop
would be so much better
if WashU just bought it out.
A friend of mine tried
to make frustrations with 3
people in the city
global.
A friend of mine said
these people
aren't worthy of having
children
A friend of mine said
they wonder
why life will never
get better for them
A friend of mine said
the universities
are all that matters
in this city
A friend of mine said
the people in St. Louis
are best used for
community Service
because it looks good
on her resume
A friend of mine said
these are the nation's
unwanted pregnancies
A friend of mine said
this city
doesn't exist
And I wish I could tell them
to stop it.
IX (My City is Not a Child)
Washington University
Remember
That you are still
In St. Louis
X(My City is a Mother)
She decorated my tomb at 21,
She asks if I will be ready to come home
And I smile
At this lady who raised me
To be as proud as her arch-shaped smile
And river-shaped fingers
That hold this country in her grip
XI (My City is Me)
I rose at the speed my mother launched me
Stopped at the top
Am admiring the view
Knowing that eventually
I'll fall
At the same speed I was launched
And will land
Back home.