In Baltimore and Beyond

This piece is written for the youth of Baltimore who can be caught up in the fomented hostility from outside influences who seek only to cloud your way to a better future. Those outside your city that prey on the frustration of those who are trying diligently to correct certain wrongs. The good people of Baltimore will prevail and we should all be with them.

If its a voice you seek,
then learn to use it.

If its love that you need,
learn to give it.

And do not throw the brick,
but work to lay it.

Do not shatter the window,
learn to frame it.

For, if its Peace that you seek,
then learn to seek it in peace,
and you will find it when you have created it.

If its light that you want,
then shine it in truth,
on the fears and the fires that betrayed it.

For when your capacity to give exceeds your willingness to take
When your ability to create exceeds your willingness to destroy
When your Spirit seeks the light and rejects the tyranny of heat
And when your actions are guided by good conscience

Then you will have found the way through the frustration,
beyond the flames of buildings and the ruins of dreams,
to the New City, and the new future we can all build together,
“In Baltimore and Beyond!”