Poem - Learned on the Streets
About
This is poetry from my boy Tony B Conscious. You can read the backstory at the end of this page.
Learned on the Streets
Learned on the Streets
by Tony B Conscious
This is my hardest lesson,
everything is not a blessing.
Everybody will keep you guessing.
so you gotta make sure you're not stressing.
So I never ever stress. I must confess.
Not everybody who says no,
really means no.
And not everybody who says yes,
is trying to give you something that you really need.
And a lot of people,
they really don't read.
And though people smile at you,
they don't want you to succeed.
This you gotta believe.
But what you can see, you can achieve.
You're goin' have to roll up your sleeves.
You're going to have to get dirty,
you're going to have to stay up late and get up real early.
You're going to have to take your time
and you're going to have to use your mind.
Some people you're going to have to ignore,
because they refuse to see that we are at war.
Some people are going turn a blind eye, and even act shy,
other people are going to see you and instead of saying hi,
they are going to go behind your back and lie.
One thing I've learned is that as long as you stay connected,
you will endure.
You will continue to grow,
the universe will allow you to go where you're supposed to go.
Just stay in the flow.
Let yourself know.
That you're doing the right thing.
Listen to your intuition, and keep your glow.
Don't ever dim your light.
Always be ready to keep up the fight.
That's all you need,
do it at a very slow speed.
Don't go to fast, because you don't want to crash.
you want to really last.
The dumbest question is the one never asked.
Ask yourself the question.
What did I learned today, what was the lesson?
Once you do that, then every day you'll grow and that's a fact.
Look at me and look at where I'm at.
I do it very articulately,
and that's what I learned the most on the streets.
... Tony B.
... -- Tony B Conscious
More About Tony
The following poem is actually an impromptu rap by Tony B Conscious which you can see at the 10:16 mark of this video. I was interviewing him for my book project "Homeless on Haight" and his rap felt like poetry, so here it is in poetry form. I edited it a little to make it more poem-like. For context, the question I asked him on video was: "Tony, what has been your hardest lesson on the streets".
More About Tony
- Tony's website: tonybconscious.com
- Tony's art: tony-bconscious.pixels.com
- More context: Without_a_Home_Story_-_Tony_B_Conscious
