by Faith P. Nelson •  November 12, 2026

First published in Water Therapy  October 2020

(Inspired by a $150 parking ticket in DC. I was angry and inconsolable.
Then I came across Nas's N.Y. State of Mind, National Symphony
Orchestra version.)

DC travelers away from your home! Some Blues
hide monsters with no heart chromosomes.
They take your swagger, your breath and

your krone.
Mercy from this fed mob ain’t saying shalom.
This town crier is throwing you a bone, givin’ you
a little love shot made from a rhizome.

Goliath, haul your chrome from the war zone.

Fake a syndrome. Cos you and Dave are just soldiers,
drones for the stone. Drones for the assassin’s stone.

Keep your eyes on the prize, walk through

the raindrops.

You’re higher soul on this physical backdrop.

Those thugs with a badge ain’t graduating. Stuck

on their evil, killing and hatin’.

Those playas are cosmically hollow
cursed cadavers  looking for more horror.

Pretending to be working on behalf of Lady Justice

higher courts turned their backs on us. This madness

is a fever in the biome. It’s gonna take them lifetimes
to atone.

Evil republic heading for a mini throne. (x2)

 The Thirteenth Amendment won’t save yah moanin.
Prison slavery. Why, racism is still growing
Hate is cancer, making clones in their bones
Only love n fiyah can get Babylon thrown from
our brown backs like an app from a phone
Four hundred years of programming but it
can be done!
Michelangelo, he did the Sistine gig in Rome
He didn’t get broken by imperial Capones
Hear me
Listen to my homily and park in the right zone
No body bag, Houdino, get back to the dome. (x2)