One day, my time will come
Maybe painfully
at the hands of pancreatic cancer
Slowly
through the mental debilitation of Alzheimer’s
Suddenly
by heart attack
Breathlessly
at the mercy of asthma
or maybe
It will be my kidneys that fail me

One day, my time will come
Possibly
at the hands of Kaiser
or Sutter
or UCD
or in the Emergency room of “Mercy”
Quickly looked over and misdiagnosed
or refused treatment
Due to a lack of insurance
Like “Colored People”
Turned away because of the color of their skin

One day, my time till come
Maybe
I’ll be murdered by “Justice”
Shot 41 times by the New York Police
While reaching for my wallet
or assassinated
By the Riverside Police
“Protecting and Serving” old racism
By firing bullets into my body
While I helplessly convulse
From a combination of a seizure and bullets

One day, my time will come
Maybe
I’ll be beat out of my misery
By the Bakersfield Police
While in the County jail on trivial charges
or shot
In the back by the Bay Area Rapid Transit Police
while pinned
cuffed
lying face down
Because even my black backside is a threat to society

One day, my time will come
Probably
at the hands of my own people
Murdered senselessly in the street
for my watch
for my car
for my wallet
Assassinated
for scuffing up their shoes
Shot in the back
while trying to shield my baby
From one of my cold blooded brothers
Keeping it real

One day, my time will come
and when it does
don’t mourn for me
don’t go into a depression
Thinking about the words you never said
or believing I went too early
or trivializing my life
By focusing the attention
On the injustice of how I left
Instead of the beauty of how I lived

One day, my time will come
and when it does
don’t let the sadness trap you
don’t let the surprise stop you in your tracks
don’t spend your days trying to memorialize me
or hiding my flaws
By trying recreate me in the perfect image
Of who you wanted me to be

I am perfectly imperfect
Humanly flawed
Scared of the pain of going
Not afraid to go
Worried about those I will leave
but hopeful,
they will focus
On loving and embracing “Life”
Understanding,
How we go is of little importance
Compared to how we “Live”

One day, my time will come
and when it does
don’t waste life
Dedicating your time to fighting “against”
All that’s wrong in the world
When you have the opportunity to fight “for”
All that’s right in the world

One day, my time will come
and when it does
Know I want you to live
Your life
moving
forward
Reaching for stars
Shining light
Being a guide to
Those who have lost their way
Living in the fullness of love
Giving yourself freely
Embracing
All that is
Instead of all that was

One day, my time will come
and when it does
I need you to know
What matters most is “Love”