Amir Rikkah
Las Vegas, NV
All work is copyright property of the artist.
Dance with The Devil Underneath The Pale Moon Light
and Stars That Are Disturbingly Hard To Find
Starry-nipple trading cards and spotlights
from the live peep show across the street from my front yard
Actually it's my balcony
Gutters cluttered with corner-box magazines
means poohnany covered streets
ain't nothing new to me
neither are girls who sell themselves to reach the American dream
Billboards gleam with asscheeks and naked silhouettes
it's five in the morning and I still haven't seen my pillow yet.
Stiletto sex
seen in the eyes of the people passing by;
looking fried from the free Mai Tai's they got
while they were playing the eleven and hitting the nine
Pull the lever to the clever crook's game
and leave with several dollars less than what you came with
Share wife/groom kisses in the front seat of your car
during a drive-thru wedding
while sweating
due to the heat underneath green night skies
and stars that are disturbingly hard to find
Bars denying the idea of last call
so take a glass of alcohol
at sunrise
and find a cabby to drive you home
as we don't need any more drunk drivers on the road
since one in five are already loaded
Celebrity mayors noticed through gin ads
and fabulous displays of solidarity
with the stripper's union
when they had to strike against
perverted owner tyranny
Vibrant tyrants in the forms of addictions
like nicotine and alcoholism
Breeding grounds for grotesque methods of capitalism
Schools packed with kids like sardines
and hardly enough books to constitute a full class set
yet their still denied the money they need
in this pocket thief economy
It's almost impossible to not see slot machines
while walking the streets
of this toxic city that never sleeps
Police leave dents in 80 year old skulls
for not sitting on the curb
when they become full of power surges
Labor forced to be perfect servants
while the grapes of wrath ferment
and create turbulence
in everyday interactions
Limited political action amongst the masses
black helicopters hover above activists
And half of the underground culture
needs to get their asses kicked
for wearing the fashion
but lacking the intelligence
to see beyond the physical attraction
and feel the passion
Mansions across the way from trailer parks
too many scarred hearts
marred from being looked at as body parts
and meat as we glow from being too close to radioactivity.
Feelings of alienation so deep
you can clearly see it's not just the artists who are insane
on the streets of the shitty city
in which I was raised
This is my praise
my ode to the only home I've ever known
full of glorified showgirls
and guys who recklessly dream of giving them a pearl neckless
(if you know what I mean)
This is my reality
things I see on a daily basis
the reason why I scratch up these pages.
One last thing to say is
Welcome to Vegas!
Morning Glory
Every morning
I want to wake up to
A flower
So the first vision I have
is the beautiful coloring
Of her many pedals
So visually pleasing,
Like a feast for the eyes
That fills the soul
Every morning
I want to wake up to
A flower
With her fragrance
Taking place as my
Aphrodisiac
As her smell lingers
In my nostrils for
Three days afterwards
Every morning
I want to wake up to
A flower
So I can reach out
And feel the warmth
Of her leaves
As they tend to prove
The world is not as rough
As it may seem
Every morning
I want to wake up to
A flower
As her presence
Helps me cope
With the events
That I will have to face
Starting with the moment
That I have to leave her side
Every morning
I want to wake up to
A flower
With her beauty
That runs deeper
Than her roots
And is enough
To make me smile
Until I go to sleep again
Every morning
I want to wake up to
A flower
For when I am sleeping
It is her that
Invades my dreams
And having her
By my side when I awake
Is my dream
Coming True
The Future is Now
Cell phones, P.S.2's, military commercials, and war-ridden news
This is what the future looks like
Six tower steeples to the right of turnpikes
with night skies that remain starless due to neon lights
reaching heights of the heavens
Crevices stuffed with devilish photographs of asscheeks
and fantastic starbursts covering private parts
Car alarms, platinum charms, shackled arms, and politicians spittin' fascist jargon.
This is what the future looks like
Global insecurity
People succumbed to tyranny
The ever threatening factor of nuclear weapons kept in the hands of warmongers
When every step seems to be in the wrong direction
Pension plans lost; thanks to corporate corruption
Soldiers getting inspiration from racist assumptions
Guns in everyone's grip
Clips emptied out on neighborhood streets
making it hard to get a good night's sleep
This is what the future looks like
Human cloning through clothing
Sweatshop universities for the art of sewing
Jobs going to the lowest bidder
While the workers' bank account\s go down the shitter
Litter lining streets, blocking water in the gutters;
whether it is smut or something from a fast food restaurant, the vision is daunting
Wants and needs have to be separated as there's no way you can afford both
Make the most of yourself only if you join the army
Alarming signs are in the skies, yet we deny them all
Now "getting out" means going inside a mall
This is what the future looks like
Media projecting minorities as minstrels
Priorities outline essentials,
like a ten-fold increase in your wardrobe
so you never have to wear the same outfit twice
yet you still don't have a home to sleep in at night
Strife is an everyday occurrence as everyone is striving to be perfect
Human purpose is to look great on the surface even if it hurts the soul
No one will love you if you look old and your wrinkles fold
At least that's what the youth has been told
Humans sold through compensation for working during our waking hours
And the power structure likes to keep a hold on their money
Females going through surgery to get something they weren't destined to have
Children taught to be dummies, it's no wonder that they are so bad
Ignorance is running a muck
and nobody gives a fuck
We've already ran out of all the luck we had
This is what the future looks like
One
We are the poets spitting street verses
The graffiti writers hitting up urban surfaces
The disenfranchised youth asking what purpose is
The single mothers with thin purses
and still having to nurse their children
The people dealing cards to make a killing for billionaires
The colored rags used as a piece of symbolic flare
We are the punk rock kids with green hair
The hip hop heads with their fists in the air
The fair skinned red necks dripping with sweat
The dreaded hobos at which you stare
The women breaking bread for their pimps
The tricks she just turned
The ashes in grandma's urn
The babies about to face birth
The flirtatious phrases that lead to procreation
The dreamers putting faith in our imaginations
The veterans who made it through the last century of war
The soldiers wondering what we are fighting for
We are the janitors cleaning the floors and windows
The dancers at the nude peep show
The people pushing weight
The fiends craving crank
The bank tellers counting out change
The prisoners locked in chains
The brains behind art and fashion
The mack with all the game
The slackers wasting away our lives
The actors waiting tables throughout the night
The receptionists writing down who called and at what time
The blind man trying to find the side of the road
The kids that will never make it to be considered old
The women sewing clothing made in sweatshops
The best intentioned cops
The small shop owners
The hustlers cutting corners
The kids at home making music
The fans who hear it and start groovin'
The groupies who want to do them
The prudes who are waiting for marriage
The toddlers getting too big for their carriages
The parents devoted to caring for their child
The hitchhikers prepared to walk for miles
We are the workers laying down tiles
The rappers with unlimited styles
The smiles that light up the feeling of gloom
The guys who make the ladies swoon
The cleaners of hotel rooms
The grooms and the brides
The cops who take bribes
The folks who have to ride for theirs
The carnies that work for county fairs
The junior high kids that failed D.A.R.E.
and stare off into oblivion
The outcasts that refuse to give in
The poets spitting street verses
The graffiti writers hitting up urban surfaces
Whatever your purpose is, the important thing is
that we are one
One mind
One soul
One love
|