54

I went to CVS to see what I could purchase for $4 –
I could buy Honey Roasted Peanuts for $4 –
A small bag of Trail Mix is $4 –
I could even purchase prunes for $4 –
I couldn’t even buy a descent toothbrush for $4 –
But I could buy a finger sport toy
Bowling set for $4 –
And a set of fake French nails for $4 –
But even dog and cat food cost way more than $4 –
There wasn’t even any medicine I could get
If I was sick for $4 –
Even the smallest bottle of aspirin cost more than
$4 –
I bought some shoelaces for $4 –
$2.99, actually, but I paid with $4 –
I needed a tape measure and I was bored
So I gotta box of UNO cards for $4 –
A Time Magazine and a coloring book for the kids
Came up to $4 –
A single for Marvin Gaye on iTunes, Makes Me
Wanna Holla, cost $2.99 less than $4 –
That bottle of water is $4 –
But the worst thing you could get as a
Black Man is to get shot in the head
For $4 –
Judge to the family awarded $4 –
Their father’s life for $4 –
A phone call was placed for a noise complaint –
At the time of his death, he was listening
To “All Me” by Drake –
He opened his door of his garage – then
Told the cop on the other side of it
To get the fuck outta dodge –
Cop fired four times afterwards
Each shot cost him his life at $4 –
It took 2 minutes to earn $4 –
The cost for the lawsuit for wrongful
Death was $4 –
Excessive force and violation of 14th and 15th
Amendment cost $4 –
S.W.A.T. Fired off tear gas cost $4 –
The jury deliberation was 10 hours –
Newman, the cop, wasn’t liable –
Drunk and hostile, Hill, the dead was 99%
Responsible –
The jury awarded Gregory Hill’s funeral
Expenses was one dollar –
The child’s loss of parental companionship
Instruction and guidance mental pain
And suffering was each one dollar –
The children are 7, 10, and 13
Each got a dollar –
Since the cop was only 1% responsible
The verdict was reduced to 4 cents –
The cop applauded the jury for free –
The funeral costs 11 thousand, you see
That’s why I take seriously what I commit
On paper and pen –
Cause in this present form, she might
Not see me again
But turn on a stereo press play and I will
Be here again –
And I’ll be here so long as she can stand
To listen –
As a Black Man, there’s always that
Strong possibility that that could be
ME
And I ask myself “What would happen
If that were to happen to my family?”
$4 couldn’t even buy time –
To kiss my family goodbye
The jury was
1 Black Man –
2 White Men –
5 White Women –
Black plight is only worth a dollar –

A noise complaint costs a man
His life and $4

A noise complaint costs a man
His life and $4

A noise complaint costs a man
His life and $4

A noise complaint costs a man
His life and $4

A noise complaint costs a man
His life and $4

$4
$4
$4
$4
$4
$4