Dear (Fill Your Name in Here),

As I stand here preparing myself to walk through 30’s door

I decided to make a list of things I would rewind time for

So here goes nothing…

I miss real music, I hate all this buffoonery

We need to change the game up, get way from al this coonery

I miss my real friends; past, present, and the ones to come

You’ve been there through it all so you know where I’m coming from

I miss love, the kind of love that leads to “I do”

It’s been absent for a while, but I think I found it a time or two

I really miss my smile, it feels like its been gone forever

I’m amazed that I continue to survive the stormy weather

I miss my cousin Shaun, we were always around each other

He was my little brother fore I had a little brother

I miss my boy Lil Phil, we was always wildin’ out

He had me rapping about tattoos before I had one to write about

I miss Princess Dyana and I miss her in a major way

She’s the only person alive that could check me on my birthday

There are certain times when I miss a certain city

I guess STL remains embedded in my left titty

But most of all, I really miss him

If you know me, you know who I’m referring to

He’s the only one I know I can talk to about what I’m going through

I’ll end this letter now because the tears are coming fast and hard

No elaborate goodbyes, just know you’re forever in my heart

Sincerely Yours,

You Know Who

PS:

I know my rhyme pattern is all over the place in this piece. That’s because its pure emotion. I just wanted to let the people that are and have been in my life know how much they mean and have meant to me. I love, have loved, or have the possibility to love each and every one of you. In your own way, you’ve helped to make me the man I am today and the man I will become in the future. Peace and love

Dear Baby Girl or Baby Boy,

I’m writing this to tell you that you’ve filled my life with joy

Before you came along, I really thought I had it all

Was quick to hit the club or blow money in the mall

But now, when I’m in the mall, I see all the things I wanna get you

I love you more than life and I haven’t even met you

I spend my free time with my head on your mommy’s tummy

So now you know that the strange voice you’re hearing is only me

And I don’t care whether you are a boy or a girl

Just know that you’re my favorite person in the world

Love Always,

Your Dad

Dear Heavenly Father,

It’s been 11 years since You called him home to You

And there’s still a part of me that wishes you would’ve taken me too

But I know You have a plan for me, I’m trying my best to follow

Sometimes without him around, I feel a little hollow

I know Your grace knows no limits, Your power knows no bounds

And one day, I’ll reunite with my dad in a utopia in the clouds

With Love and Hope,

Your Son

I was sitting around the other night

And I started to think about what I need in my life

At first, my list was materialistic, selfish and vain

I sure could use a Range Rover decked out with wood grain

A closet filled with brand names like Gucci and Fendi

And enough shoes to make the Foot Locker man green with envy

But then I rethought is that what I really need in my life

Or do I desire that my people endure less strife

Then my list started to transform

I was optimally prime, a man reborn

I really could use love in this world

Not from the masses, but from one girl

Then I had to bite Diddy

What I need is a pretty woman next to me

To share the dreams that I believe

Maybe start a family

Someone who truly understands how to treat a man

This is what I need

But I moved on because love is strong, but I can’t lie on that alone

I could use a real gig, not that $7.50 from McDonald’s asking people “Would you like fries with that?”

I could use some of that good green and I don’t mean weed or grass

I need dinero, some lira, them Benjamins aka cold hard cash

I swear before God I need a break from being black up in here

These cops watching me like I’m Nino Brown , the bust of their career

I need respect and understanding from the woman and man

That call themselves my parents but act like they don’t give a damn

I’m hungry but no Extra Value Meal could fill me

The hunger I want to satisfy is that for knowledge of self

Knowledge of wealth, knowledge of what’s on the top shelf

Three decades on planet earth and I ain’t got a thing to show

Stayed in school all those years, yet there’s still so much I don’t know

I need somewhere to showcase my talents, express my beliefs and views

Can I get a hallelujah, an amen or two

Let me get back on track before I pretend y’all sitting in pews

I need peace of ind that my life has meaning

That I’m not just here for the sake of being

I need to know that my children won’t go through the same shit that I did

Just like our parents did for their kids and their parents did for their kids

I need all my people to know that being black is beautiful

We’re descendants of royalty, there’s nothing we can’t do

If I should die tonight, would you miss me
Show up at my funeral in black, eyes misty
The list of folks that would come can’t be that long
But who knows, about this I could be wrong
On the other side, I’ve been an ass my whole life
Running off everyone from my friends to my wife
Feels like I’m at the end of my rope, with no hope
And things just ain’t looking up, now my time is up
The casket is closed, the service is over
With dirt, the grave is filling up
So here lies, me
A son, brother and friend to many
Not much to the world, so much more to a few
A hard man with a soft side very few folks knew
If I should die tonight, what would you call me
Would you look back on our time together and think of me fondly