The Wise

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Don't talk back to your mom or grandmother
cuz there's a fact that she'll never use against you
even though she could:

She wiped your ass when no one else would.

We see them struggling with turning on TVs and DVD Players and we laugh
well that's cuz back then they didn't need those things we now see as necessities
If they were bored
they got off of their butts and did something about it
in fact, they didn't even have time to be bored
cuz they worked hard
the lives we live now are built on their backs
the backs of plantation workers, busboys, janitors, waiters, housekeepers, and babysitters
but we still whine
we sit and cry
when we're told we have to walk to school today
or catch TheBus
TheBus. God forbid! Not TheBus!!
Riding publicly? With all those...people??
Shut your well-fed mouth.
TheBus took your grandmother to Chinatown everyday
so you could eat
survive
live
and learn
so you could have your turn and take your place in this world
hopefully a better place than hers

"Go be pharmacy. Good money. Air conditioned."
That's what my Yin Yin says to me all the time
because she doesn't want my body to break
like hers had to sometimes

If only we stopped to look at the forever that's been worked into their eyes
we'd see we don't know so much about life as we thought we did
cuz our lives right now ain't nothing like when they were kids

so why don't we stop pointing and laughing
and acknowledge that they
they are the ones who hold more wisdom
than we can find through any of these people we glue our eyes to through our TVs
Wisdom is written into every wrinkle on their skin
every piece of knowledge they have
is drawn up out of their minds
and colors their hair gray, saying, "Hey, come, listen. There is something here to be shared."

They are The Wise
and we're not meant to just feed off the food they cook
but their wrinkles, their gray hairs, and their eyes