Deposition
by ML Caldwell
Everybody wants to rally behind a party or a cause
Pledging their allegiance to flags
People got their eyes focused on the world outside their window
Full of broken bottles, headlines, & toe tags
I can’t really get behind the things I see on t.v.
I can’t support the things I hear on the news
I don’t have time to listen to why I should vote for you
I could care less if this or that candidate should win or lose
I can’t spend my energy on freeing Jena 6
When I am too preoccupied with trying to feed the Caldwell 3
I am sensitive to the climate of social change
But, who’s going to take care of my wife & 2 sons, if not me?
What I’m saying is this:
Everyone has to pull their own weight, carry their own load, manage their own burdens
I’ll assist where I can, but I’m only one man,
And my first priority is the truth for which men are yearning
I’m still learning
How to be self-sufficient
How to be satisfied with my necessities
How to be balanced
How to keep my eye simple
But, why does it feel like
Every time I state my beliefs
I am giving a deposition?
Beyond unfounded suspicions & confounded superstitions
Sense of right & wrong wallows in atrophy
Yet, you have the nerve & audacity to attack me
When all I did was ask you how your day had been
Never accusing you of any sin
Only offering to you any assistance I can give
But your insistence is on criticizing the way that I live
Nevertheless, still I offer to you my hand
And if you want me to, I can help you stand
And walk upright as a woman or man
And teach you to truly understand
But, until you change your position
I submit to you my deposition…
© 2007 Cosmic Urban Jazz