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Joe Mac, performing at IWPS 2019 in San Diego, CA.
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Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for spoken word and performance poetry.
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Bullshit: noun, definition of status
by a Webster's dictionary, Stupid or untrue talk or writing, Nonsense. Examples: Black shooters–thugs, Muslim shooters–terrorists, Asian shooters–communists, White shooters–mental health. See, I don't know if they think
I was born last night, But I'm not immune to the fact
that Black men and prison go hand in hand Like a Crip that only eats seafood. We are replaced with numbers
as if we were tickets pulled at the DMV. Now serving C35 at gate number 4. These are your privatized sectors Where petty narcotics can get you
a minimum life sentence And there's no place for no [inaudible]. You called this
the Department of Corrections, Yet it's filled with all the wrong answers On how to make me human again. Your chained fist and metal
was meant to sing my sad song, But much like Mambo Rap, There's nothing meaningful
about your balls. Don't tell me to stay silent
behind this iron, Because remember that even
a caged bird sang and beat his wings When he was tired of being stuck
in the prison that he was in. And I sleep on his feathers Because they are much more comfortable
than the mattress you provide. My tears leap from tear seed
down to ground level. In here, my fears have fears. And now I understand what Kendrick meant
when he said, "If these walls could talk," Because if yours could,
those bricks would be Kawhi Leonard, Mourning the loss of the humans That you were reduced back
to three-fifths from the plantation Because we make up 40% of this population. And then I add them up.
Well, at least I'm whole human again. So maybe that's my consolation prize For being a three-time loser. (applause)
