Grace

“the person i fell in love with was a mirage”
― Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers

“I remember you was conflicted
Misusing your influence
Sometimes I did the same
Abusing my power, full of resentment
Resentment that turned into a deep depression
Found myself screaming in the hotel room
I didn’t wanna self destruct
The evils of Lucy was all around me
So I went running for answers
Until I came home
But that didn’t stop survivor’s guilt
Going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes I earned
Or maybe how A-1 my foundation was
But while my loved ones was fighting the continuous war back in the city, I was entering a new one
A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination
Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned
The word was respect
Just because you wore a different gang color than mine's
Doesn’t mean I can’t respect you as a black man
Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets
If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us
But I don’t know, I’m no mortal man, maybe I’m just another nigga”
― Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly

“you ask
if we can still be friends
i explain how a honeybee
does not dream of kissing
the mouth of a flower
then settle for its leaves”
― Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers

“how do i teach myself
to accept a healthy love
if all i've ever known is pain”
― Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers