My Friend

I'm like the palm trees in LA
Twice removed from Sham
But when I was growing up
Nobody knew where I was from
I'd tell them that I'm Syrian
They stood there looking curious
Started speaking to me in Spanish
Some would even speak in tongues
I wasn't offended, never am
Couldn't have an agenda
Well aware of the privileges a new blue passport rendered
Nose clean
No angel, but no fiend
No playboy, but no chump
No label could own me
If only

[Chorus]

(Excerpts from Kahlil Gibran's "My Friend")
"My friend, I am not what I seem
Seeming is but a garment I wear
A care-woven garment that protects me from thy questioning
And thee from my negligence
The “I” in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence
And therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable."

So don't f*ck with me...

[Verse 2]

If only I'd swear more
And say I don't care more
But those who know me know that isn't me
So I'm here more
Showing up for my fam
Being present when I can
Recognizing it's a blessing
To caress my mother's hand
Or be handed a microphone
To address another man
And remind him I'm no lesser of a man
The older I get, the more I've come to comprehend
That some of you rappers I'll just never understand
Oh well

[Chorus]

(Excerpts from Kahlil Gibran's "My Friend")
"My friend, thou art good and cautious and wise;
Nay, thou art perfect—and I, too, speak with thee
Wisely and cautiously. And yet I am mad
But I mask my madness. I would be mad alone
My friend, thou art not my friend
But how shall I make thee understand?
My path is not thy path, yet together we walk, hand in hand."

Yalla