SAMPLE POEMS – Coyotes in Broad Daylight <--back to main samples page

HOLY CHILD BLUES
They say you're a menace to society
A subject full of rage,
You barely reach the judge's chest
They're jailing you today
For making a very big mistake
How could you ever know?
Your mama's sick, your daddy's dead
You sold a little blow
To feed yourself, to clothe your sis
Your intentions all so pure
For inside that twisted angry mask
A soul shines bright and pure.

You're a holy child, brave holy child
The new light of this age,
Society's crushed your hopes and dreams
You've responded with pure rage
Oh holy child, brave holy child,
Just open up your heart
To feel the awesome sacredness—
Your soul is our fresh start

You sit inside an eight-by-ten
Your cellmate's doing life
He brags about his dirty deeds
And the way he killed his wife
It breaks your heart to hear this man
Rejoice in his violent ways
You wish you could resurrect the white
And sweep her woes away
To redeem yourself, to give your sis
A place to live and sleep
For word's come in, she's hiding out
Word is, she's gone in deep

You're a holy child, brave holy child
The new light of this age,
Society's crushed your hopes and dreams
You've responded with pure rage
Oh holy child, brave holy child,
Just open up your heart
To feel the awesome sacredness—
Your soul is our fresh start

How can we relate to a society
That throws its young away?
That orders holy tender souls
To win or else you'll pay,
These precious sacred souls of love
Teardrops of angels' light,
The holy saviors of our time
And we flush them out like shit,
We flush them out like shit,
We say, you lose that's it!
You lose, you lose that's it!
I swear I do not understand
How we can face each day,
When we've killed the holy spirit
Of these kids, in every way!

You've helped so many inmates read,
They're gonna set you free,
A few months shy of seventeen
You've done time for you and me,
That's what they tell us on the streets,
You're a dreg of society
They had to send you up the creek
To appease their propriety
Here's twenty bucks, another chance
Do not come back again,
Oh holy child, dear holy child
I pray you find your way.

I pray you find your way.

Coyotes in Broad Daylight Contents
What They Say
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