JB

My mother was a soldier; I'm speaking literally.  More so for the fact that she chose to deliver me.  

I grew up in a single-parent home; I got to know my pops mainly through the phone.  

Eventually, he would come around like every six months; he bought me some clothes and took me out to lunch.

The visits were short, and they always left me stuck; I was torn inside every time he chose to buck.  

Thinking back to those days, he did what he could.  It was hard to hear my moms say, "he really should..."

"Do this, do that," the questions I had were endless; Like how to shave, how to dress, and how to work with wrenches.  

A fatherless child leads a son to the trenches; war against hate and anger, I found myself defenseless.  

Early teenager years, I had big hopes of ballin.  I even had a slight glimpse of a collegiate calling.  

But it all came crashing down piece by piece falling when I tasted what I thought was better than Spaulding.  

The drugs, the sex, the alcohol, the money?  Once I got it, my goal was to get plenty.  

And for a moment, I felt as if inside the battle raged on no more.  Or, so I thought.  

Eventually, the memory of the enemy came in disguise seeking to write a murder mystery.  

Twenty-one years old, heart so cold, on the broad road or destruction.  A heroin addict with a possible vein eruption.

You would think at this point I would smarten up.  But I went harder than ever as if my aim was a carton of.

Milk! A child goes missing. But in this case, I'm the criminal and the victim.    

My own worst enemy. What could be the remedy? 

Twelve steps, sober house, spin dry, I'm still high; I'm about to grab a rope and!!

"Wait..." "Wait, John!" 

Who's that I hear??? Time stops in suspension. 

"It's the almighty God of forgiveness and redemption. I can heal you of your pain and break that cage off your life!!" 

So at that moment, I knelt by His side and trusted in the light.  

Jesus Christ, that is! The Way. The Truth. The Light. He took that which was dark and made it shine bright. 

So now I live to shine in the confines of the city lines. I let my rhymes stay sublime, and the Lord's glory remains primetime.  

Sola Deo Gloria