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Its A Shame, My Sister

from New Home​/​All Home by Paulie Lipman

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This is for my formerly estranged "sibling".

lyrics

Hip Hop didn't save my life
Its just one of the things
that helps me live it

We
were born the same year
1975
While I took 9 months and 36 hours
to emerge screaming into the American night
your conception had been
hundreds of years in the making
The child of two proud, round black mothers
a Jamaican father , acting as mid-wife
synchronized their heart beats, and gave you form
in 5 elements
Your screaming mouth
One hand spinning, the other spraying fingers
and 2 chubby crazy legs
We were both breach babies
The doctor got me turned around in time
but you
you came out kicking, didn't you?

Sister
I know how you've been
Your upbringing has been well documented
We've been through so many
of the same trials
Youthful arrogance to party times to activist intelligence
and yet turned out so differently
I got sick of explaining to folks
that fraternal twins look nothing alike
That's no excuse for my distance, but
just one of many reasons
Do you know how hard it is
to have a more sucessful sibling?
I couldn't escape my own inadequacy
swallowed the bile until
I spit acid speech over every mention
of your name and wrote off your blurred signature
in cursive, until
it looked nothing like mine

I didn't even blink
when they said you were dead
I knew
they were wrong
Your coffin rattled too empty

You are not the first person
to fake their own death when they
see what atrocities are commited
in their name
But you should see what
good works it inspires
There are millions waiting for your return
have proven themselves worthy by
sowing your lessons into a society in and of itself
and just your presence could keep it from
its own destruction
But more than that, I
need you to forgive me

You
never saved my life
but are one of the things
that make it worth living

credits

from New Home​/​All Home, released December 26, 2011
Words and Music by Paulie Lipman

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Paulie Lipman Denver, Colorado

Paulie Lipman has been a part of 8 Denver National Slam Teams(including '04's second place and '06's national champions). His work has appeared in The Legendary, Borderline, and the Write Bloody anthology: The Good Things About America.

In addition to Spoken Word, Pauile is also a musician/composer and is available for hire for commercial/video game/soundtrack work. ... more

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