on our honor

By Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai

the old school mc
pours drinks at the bar,
rhymes for the patrons,

teaches the kids in the
kindergarten, waits in
the welfare line.

the promise of hip hop
plated beneath gold teeth,
platinum chains,

spotless rims on the range
rover, that keeps him living at
his grandmother’s house.

the promise of hip hop
recycled in disposable
beats, inedible tracks,

as the original b-boys
and b-girls scramble for traction
on vanishing ground.

out-marketed, out-packaged,
out-industry-ed, out-done —

aging dreams aflame
on the horizon —

we did it for the love,
for the love,
for the love.

Visit Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai’s site Yellow Gurl

Comments are closed.