Thursday, September 2, 2010

C.H.I. to N.Y. Part II

Last year, our man Dometi Pongo produced a short piece based on his travels and observations in NYC. Recently, he offered a follow-up, "C.H.I. o N.Y. Part II," highlighting some of his experiences and observations in the city this past summer.




C.H.I. to N.Y. Part II
By Dometi Pongo

From Chicago to New York, Cities with bright lights,
Overpopulated gentrification I might write
About the plight of its inhabitants too many things are similar
Visions painful as enemas, can’t tell the cops from the criminals
And everywhere I look, all these messages that’s subliminal
Was so surprised when bombarded by advertisements
It’s Billboards on every corner (corner in Times Square)
{Thought: “So no wonder lately I been craving Sean John gear”}
And most the models are light, light-skinned with long hair
In a city so diverse, something is wrong there…
On the corner teenager’s timid worried ‘bout self-image
But Malcolm X said you’re beautiful on the corner of Lennox
Left Harlem then took the train to China-Town
To buy my momma a purse was astonished when I found
Police raided the scene; I thought they would shut it down
But instead they took a bribe and happily left the town
And counterfeiting trademark infringers got back to business
This corruption I witnessed led me to the decision
It’s important to travel ‘round this country and pay attention
To the world that we live in and see that there’s little difference
Between the hearts of men in all the places I’ve seen
But it’s hope from Manhattan and from the Bronx to Queens
Where it seems it’s a culmination of races relatin’
Something we can take a tip from New York and bring to the Midwest corners
To St. Louis corners, from the Bronx to Manhattan to Cabrini Green corners, From Bed Stuy corners…

Related posts:
New York: A Poetic Reflection
NYC: A Dreamer's Playground
This NYC Journey (2010)
we do black studies

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