The Kite

            Dear Soldiers,Comrades and Enemies,
       It is my hopes ,prayers and dreams that my words reach you in good health,mentally,physically as well as spiritually.As for me I'm doing well as can be expected given the hardship I face on a daily basis, but I'm sure yours is worst.Therefore my words may not bring comfort but I understand you still.....my wish is that my words will speak of empathy.
       Reality speaks for itself,what I'm doing ,where I'm going.I swear you know better than anybody what it means to embark on a life of destruction,walking around blinded. Believe it or not I'm doing what they never thought I'd do and they still talk about me, but I guess you got to lose a few to gain the few that counts. Just know the skull dugery in me is no more bro!I have kids now and like I think about them daily, I'm sure you have nightmares and cold sweats when you thing about yours. Oh yea if you ain't heard Auntie dead.Real talk ,it's tight on everybody.....man we just went to a funeral last week.Dawg little brother had to be cremated because his family was broke...no stash,no insurance.I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss you.In all reality things just aint the same.You gotta come home fammo!The kids miss you and mama do too.I would tell you about what's her name but I want you to concentrate on touching down.If you ain't heard I put the sack away,yea man I don't hustle no more,I been off into church and working on a book.You know that I know what it feels like to be captured and caged.All I can say is appeal it.....to give you natural life is for you to give it to God,He got the last say over your life. Pops birthday just passed, and I know if he was here he would've enjoyed himself. So what's been happening with you, I heard you just got out the hole for fighting?.....Bro you better remember that's their house and you can't win, all they do is keep adding time, time you'll never get back. We need you out here with us! But until you come home, hold your head and remember I'm rooting for you, I don't care what we didn't get along about. Oh yea, grandma said send you a scripture.....Psalm 31.
                                                                                                          Love is Love,
                                                                                                          T.H.U.G.W.A.Y.

Still Thugging

Thug n.a hoodlum or ruffian; formerly,a professional assassin in India; Today's thug comes in many more forms and the definition is much more wide spread.A young man with a ball cap,sagging jeans and a knack for speaking Ebonics fluently can be considered a thug.There should be no argument that before Tupac emerged on the scene in the early 90's the word thug was rarely if ever used to describe a black man.I myself began using the word about that time because I felt it was a title that would give my life meaning,as if it would strengthen my standing in the community as somebody not to f#ck with.(today I continue to use the word only in a different context)As I stated earlier many names have been derived from the word thug such as goon or gangsta to describe ourselves and others.In order to drive the title home what recent generations of men have done is become murderers,killing off potential doctors,lawyers and maybe even community leaders.I guess what I'm saying is many families will never get the chance to see what one would've became and this goes for the incarcerated as well.The streets of the inner cities such St.Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Flint and countless others are running crimson with the blood of our youth, OUR FUTURE! One of the things I've noted is that we have men and women with resources to reach out but refuse to because of the fear of failure or they feel their time would be wasted(we have to get them while they're young). As I've stated in previous writings I myself was once part of the problem instead of part of the solution. It took the majority of my youth and adulthood of being in institutions,being shot six times,homelessness and estranged from my family to finally begin to think straight. Not to brow beat anyone but God spared my life as He have with others and for that I'm indebted to my children and yours as well.Too many times we make it out never having the commonsense or compassion to reach back and help someone else,not even our own. The saying goes "it takes a village to raise a child",and I believe that to be true. The only reason black men are not extinct is because black women are producing more babies that thy're not even capable of caring for. I'am deathly afraid for my son so with every passing day I hope and pray for his well being but whatever he becomes in life I know that I have played a role, a major role(what now comes to mind is save our sons and daughters)-James Doe 1776

Till death do us part

....The divorce rate among blacks is higher than any other ethnic group,coming in at 70%,why is this?Statistics show we also have the lowest rate when it simply comes to getting married.Researchers have attributed this to our economic situations the same way they have explained our incarceration status(poverty).I will be honest in saying that I fall into this category having spent several years in prison,then to get married and quickly divorced.I have witnessed first hand the affect this has had on my children and I must say it's devastating.Truth of the matter is our children become displaced and divided often times because of custodial  rights.They are forced to choose between mother and father and to decide who was the cause of the separation of family;I honestly believe that we as African Americans forget that we have made a vow to God to love one another for rich or poor,through sickness or in health,till death do us part;The fact of the matter is we have now labeled ourselves and refer to one another as "baby daddy" and "baby mama",giving way to the black family as a whole.I'll be first to agree that all relationships are not healthy and that separation and ultimately divorce is the best answer.When I think of the reasons why my own marriage did not sustain the test of time,I can only think of that old cliche that says "a family that prays together stays together";so many of us did not pray for a soul mate(someone evenly yoked with ourselves)but yet we stand at the alter vowing before God to love,honor and protect.It is my belief that we initially enter into these unions in hopes that a ring and title will solidify our status in society or at the very least  it will offer security.I could be wrong but I believe that communication and prayer before marriage is the essential keys to its survival.I'd like to close by saying that I commend and tip my hat to the men and women who have stuck by that vow and continue to fight together instead of with one another.(if The Lord never sends a soul mate,it it because He wants you to marry Him) Revelations 19:9   -James Doe 1776