A child was born/ and at that moment/
A little Afro hung above a little face/ the color of coffee with two drops of cream diluted/
A little Afro hung above a little face/ the color of coffee with two drops of cream diluted/
He spent his early time alone and secluded/ Blocks, Firetrucks, crayons and puzzles/
Developed an artistic sense/ curious to know what made the clock go tick – tock/
The energy around him was filled with optimism/
The energy around him was filled with optimism/
Catholic School/ only 14 other kids in his class/ a teacher and an assistant teacher/
Mother and father watch the little Afro grow into something magical/
“My One Son”
His mother called him by that name/
Then came another/
December 14Th 1977/
In came the Younger Brother/
In came the Younger Brother/
The year he came there was a war for the souls of the ghetto/
Pharmaceutical products flooded certain communities by grand design/
The energy around him was filled with cynicism/
Making the younger brother of “The One Son” grittier than he was/
Making the younger brother of “The One Son” grittier than he was/
Folding bunk beds/ is where the brothers laid their heads/
Late night it was also where the Little Afro told many stories and his Younger Brother would ask many questions/
Late night it was also where the Little Afro told many stories and his Younger Brother would ask many questions/
Two brothers, seven years apart/
You wouldn’t know this had you closed your eyes and heard them talk to each other tho/
Standing on the same Earth back to back looking at 2 different horizons/
The seasons changed and the little Afro came of age/
He felt compelled to go and baptize himself in the waters of manhood/
His younger brother saw no need for him to leave tho/
In his eyes/ they were already baptized/ minus the holy water/
This water came from sewer pipes built by the armies who dismantled the black family/
Doctor! Doctor! Nervous breakdown in room seven!
The family goes through crisis/
A mother gets pushed to the very edge of craaAaazy/
The little Afro has gone far away/
When the little Afro returns the two brothers do not recognize each other/
Two brothers Seven Years Apart/
Now also separated by the last seven years they spent apart/
Their war is a spiritual war/
A dichotomy of styles and personal truths/
The Little Afro still told many stories and his Younger Brother would still ask many questions/
You wouldn’t know this had you closed your eyes and heard them talking tho/
For this time there was testosterone in their tone/ There was yelling/ there was shouting/
Posturing and bold bluffs/ chest to chest before fist of cuffs/
Ashy knuckles after scuffles/ frozen hot pockets on swollen eye sockets/
Posturing and bold bluffs/ chest to chest before fist of cuffs/
Ashy knuckles after scuffles/ frozen hot pockets on swollen eye sockets/
Laughter came after…
Two brothers seven years apart/
Doing what brothers do when boys become men/
Doing what brothers do when boys become men/
Then the system took the youngest boy/
The system that profits from public fear robbed him of his precious freedom/
Another seven years would pass/
Again the two brothers did not recognize each other/
Yet still, the Little Afro continued to tell many stories and his Younger Brother would still ask many questions/
The stories were filled with optimism and the questions were filled with cynicism/
Their different perspectives taught them both the value of each other/
In spite of the different horizons they looked at, they still stood back to back/
They grew to love how much stronger two spines back to back were as opposed to one/
They grew to respect the fact/ that they had each other’s back/
They grew to love how much stronger two spines back to back were as opposed to one/
They grew to respect the fact/ that they had each other’s back/
Once love and respect intervened something magical happened/
Healing began and for the first time since they were both children/
They were at peace/ For they both realized that they were two versions of the same man/
Only separated by two different ideologies/ and seven years of time/
– GB
