"The Band" with Spoken Word by Gaude. Pavements and Thoughts..

Strolling through dirt-tracks of thought

I, Stumbled across a class on gender equality

Lucky me! Blessed, with the opportunity to understand my
oppressors

Lest, I judge and criticize without for a second opening my
eyes

See, the tears of women before me weighed so heavy on my
skin

They, darkened my skin

Every push they felt, pushed me to the brim

Strong, beautiful women not knowing what to live for

Shunned from their own kin,

Folk don’t understand the bravery and desperation that comes
with whispers of delicate “I Love You’s”

To the same hands that beat you black and blue.

The real violence on women is not physical

Its, Spiritual. Its Emotional.

It is indoctrined in our minds’ eternal

Screams, turn into dreams eventually misplaced and forgotten

Begotten scars are minuscule compared to the bars your state
of mind, is confined to

Eyes, on billboards positioned to sell you low self-esteem

Tell you you’re ugly then tell you how to fix it with
Maybelline

Revlon models teaching women to compete with each other for
the affection of men

Aspiring to be Stay-At-home Barbies, with thongs as
accessories

And, Working-Gal Barbie, abusive boyfriend sold separately

Does not matter if they respect us

The only, goal on our prospectus is being the envy of our
fellow women

They’re pitting us in a bidding war against each other

So now, not only do we not love men

We do not love each other.

I’m sitting at the back of this gender quality class

This feminism class

This “Hate Men and What They Did To Us” class

This “Brotha’s keep keeping a Sista down” class

This “Down-With-Sexism” class – But, only for women

See there’s only one side to this prism

We’re fighting in the disguise of gender equality for all

But, open your eyes; it’s not only women that take the fall

Men get raped too – SHH! We shouldn’t take about that!

See men, they’re the enemy and that’s that

So lets continue this debate on who’s oppressor was greater

See, we’re slaves that fell in love with their chains

They defined us as lesser, and we decided it was better, to

Fight the oppressor and NOT the oppression

We fell in love with the instruments of our Liberation

Forgetting that we own the keys to our own Emancipation

I pray, that I may someday teach my sons and daughters not
to fight for peace

But to, Peace, for peace. And Love, for love.

WOMEN! We, and men go together, hand in hand

I pray that our sons may grow to know better

Than to cast shadows on the lights of their sister’s lives

And that my daughters realize the value in each and every
one of their eyes

Sisters, I pray, that on this eve

We remember that we are daughters, of Eve

Flesh of my flesh and, blood of my blood

You and I are the same

Maybe God made women second because men alone was not enough

So then you gave me your rib, Adam

And now we vibrate on the same wavelength, like atoms

Colliding like protons and electrons

I will wait for you, neutral

Till you’re done with your war

You cannot teach me to hate you,

And I will not teach my sons and daughters to hate men

Because the sins of their fathers do not belong to them

And No, I’m not saying that any tear was shed in vain

Or that every bruise didn’t cut deeper than a vein

I’m saying, why sign on the dotted line to live life as
victims of shame

It’s time to reclaim our names, and

Bump to the funk of LOVE.