To Young Leaders

[Verse 1]
So here’s what you can expect:
A burlap sack with a dollar sign on it or a check
They’ll throw it at your feet and ask you to dance
They’ll point rocket launchers at your feet and ask you to dance
I never danced, proud to play the wall and leave early
Ridin’ shotgun with Circe; watch for the pigs
Watch for the cigarette vendors
Watch for the bread and circuses and remember:
Everything’s for sale and everything will kill you
…so don’t buy it, remember who supplies it:
Their teeth are syringes, eyes are blood diamonds
Shinin’, the patron saints of gun violence
Remember: a poem is worth more than a prayer
A prayer is a quiet conversation
A poem is an incantation, a fireball from your fingertips
It’s something out of nothing and we’re listenin’
So spit it, every mic is a magic wand
And all the stage is a world
So when they ask you to dance, kick ‘em in the teeth
Listen to the beat, listen to the beat

[Bridge 1]
In less than 100 years, every sinlgle one of your Facebook friends will be dead. Your life, your impact upon this planet, Upon your community cannot be measured in like, in plays, in plays, in CD's sold. You better recognize, You better weaponize

[Verse 2]
So here’s what you can expect:
Style over substance, lust and fear over respect
I used to rap really fast
And the kids at the shows would say “damn” but they wouldn’t understand
What you say is more important than how you say it
What you do is more important than what you say
And what you build is more important than what you do
So what you gonna build today?
Young leader, young metahuman
Young spellcaster stay fashionin’ the blueprints
Humility is beautiful, but when worse comes to worse
Remember what you’re worth...
Remember: people who have not accomplished half of what you have
Are gonna tell you that you work too hard
And they’ll support ya yappin’ but when you propose action
They’ll tell you that it goes too far
But if you really want change, be prepared to make war
Whether physical spiritual cultural or something more
‘cause if we are the ones we’ve been waiting for
What the hell are we waiting for?

[Bridge 2]
The soundtrack to your life should not be background music. Wrap your poetry around a warclub. Take your most potent, battle-tested folk songs, turn the bass up and add some drums that bang. You better recognize, You better weaponize

[Outro]
We are more than the sum of our parts
They are less than the sum of our fears
I think the guards are asleep at the gate
And we got all the weapons we need right here
We are more than the sum of our parts
They are less than the sum of our fears
I see the guards are asleep at the gate
And we got all the weapons we need right here