This young sapling that stands next to me, taller than I; but I with more rings, more branches that stretch in various directions, what do I say to him? He stands with me in the same grove, I have seen more sunsets, and I have witnessed more changes in season. He can only be what his DNA is, how can I ask of him what I still struggle to be? How can he define his goals and ambitions, when I, more than twice his age, have not attained my own? What does he see? Is he looking towards me or is he looking to the horizon?

What I See!!

I'm not quite old school, I'm not Hip Hop, but I am a part of rap. So he stands tall, wonder how and what his goals should be, should I emulate what I see on television? He comes from seeds, I'm not gangster, I'm not a thug, he can't change his DNA, and he can't change his skin color. How do I tell him that he will always be faced with the challenge, that his color defines people's perception of him without knowing him. That it's more than one battle, it is a lifelong war, to move to challenge, to conquer, but to conquer with love, and appreciation of those that went before you and those who are to follow...

No music playing in the background, but there is a beat, there is rhythm. I do I make it prophetic, do I use metaphors, because there is a vernacular of what he is accustomed to, what captures his attention. Do I quote the existentialism: of "I must find a truth that is true for me... the idea for which I can live or die" from philosophers like Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. What about Chomsky, Shakespeare, Biggie, Tupac. Do I want to be poetic, and at the same time prophetic? Am I trying to entertain him or share some wisdom?

What he sees is no different; it's just from younger eyes.

NottHead