Stop Standing Under Understanding
Eduardo Martinez with a poem of questions from inside the walls
never really understood why guys justify their oppression, saying things like
'if it wasn't for prison i'd probably be dead '
moms will say stuff like that too like,
'jail saved my son's life '
is that what standing under understanding sounds like?
does an atheist swear on the bible before taking the stand?
is that sanctimony over testimony?
what makes a judge so righteous? so godly?
if courtrooms are heavens, are plea bargains temporary hells?
is purgatory a cell?
how is money the root of all evil if it didn't grow in the garden of Eden?
don't dare believe in UFOs,
but believe in chariots of fire coming down from the skies
isn't that an unidentified flying object coming from outer space?
was Jesus an astronaut? is NASA religious?
why wasn't the CDC tracking statistics for influenza in 2020?
could that be the reason COVID cases seem to be rising again?
why is it called a freeway if you're forced to pay a toll?
am i blind or is someone lying to me?
’cause even when i'm sleeping i'm not asleep
i write truth not poetry, chase thoughts not dreams
my mind is a wax museum of memories
a castle of conspiracy paintings with moving eyes following every move my conscious makes
all confinement boxes are haunted by regret
i've had deeper conversations with walls than with people
more perspectives than an optometrist
D.C. numbers are algorithms in prison
we're all just numbers at the end of the day
ask your social security, it's had you cuffed since birth
floss with barbed wire long enough
and you'll start spitting out juveniles
only sweet thing in our worlds are cavities
kind of like filling a grave or being extracted from family
most of us learn how to subtract before adding
just like division really means segregation
water fountains not math problems
’cause a K9 has never been my best friend
maybe because i'm considered 3/5 of a man
but i'm more etymology than definition these days
and i'd prefer a question over an answer
like why don't you capitalize your i?
because my ego has been getting ahead of itself
besides, they'll capitalize off your pride and weaponize it against you
are bullets good readers, or do they just like magazines?
’cause the NRA isn't a book club
but still bestsellers that will book you
zip you up in a body bag like a school shooter's future
zipped up in a book bag next to a text of bullets for a bully with a tech
who lives lavishly on social media but poorly in reality
pretending is trending
so smile for the camera and a selfish selfie
’cause cheese means more than red weave to a hoodrat
it means still believing that in the end everything will be all right
‘cause if it's not all right now
i guess that just means it's not the end
so maybe the wrong turn ended up being the right way to go
once you begin to interrogate your understanding
and violate your mind's Miranda rights
think free, and overstand the wrong answers to the right questions
no matter how many times you're a martyr to multiple choice