Slammed & Split

Passed

Download Passed as an mp3

I think I passed
into the white middle class;
a move irreversible
with no way to back.

An outdated ghetto pass
is still good for entry,
but earns sideways looks
from those standing sentry.
It gets respected
but it's not undetected
that I haven't been up on my forms.
No paperwork necessary;
it's really elementary
for them to consider it cool.

I once went to school
in hood-rich environs,
but was too smart
to be played a fool
in a system that was stacked,
though not against me,
so I broke from the pack
with no adversity.
Nothing holding me back,
no finder's fee
for those light of skin
who get away free
and eventually
get absorbed into this society
while running away
from roots in the ground
propelled along
by treadmills on ground.

Moving walkways
go too fast to turn back,
and all you can do
is begin to unpack
and sometimes look behind you
at the trails
that unveil
the self that you once knew.