Still Standing

I fell in love with rap around the age of 8
Dad died, to survive we had to change our state
VA to the Lou, a change of pace
A country kid in a city too afraid to face
Amazing Grace is what the choir sang
Paying money every Sunday so the preacher gets the finer things
But we don’t even have our own house
Living with my aunt Binky for years, sometimes iffy, but still
Despite any trouble, we were never thrown out
Bus rides to school, I’d often zone out
I used to sit in the front; the kids would target me
They knew I was green and ripe for the harvesting
I learned quick, in this city the strong survive
And most my peers been traumatized
Like when my mamma died I found her and I saw her eyes
Life’s a bitch that don’t apologize

Chorus:
No matter what Imma hold it down
Chest out, imma soldier now
And I can’t let trials get me down, that’s my chance to grow
Just know I’m still standing though (2x)

I remember living in a shelter, couldn't call a house my home
Now I'm reminiscing vivid on my iPhone
Sipping Crown Royal Black
Thinking bout the times I would ride in the back
My dad in the front, and he's driving the lac'
Yea, the pain still there, ain't no hiding the fact
That I tried to adapt in my youth, no guidance from a man
Trying to survive the best I can
Then mom passed and I feel it was too soon
My sister said Ive changed and not just my point of views
But you wasn’t with me crying in my room
Every single night suicide was on the loom
When I felt alone, changed homes switched schools
With Meams and Gilpa after the move
Buts it’s cool, I always knew that I would make it through
"The Weary Blues" the equivalent of Langston Hughes

Chorus (2X)

Now let me tell you a story about Stephanie
A single mother who struggled, but did the best that she
Could ever do while going through pain incessantly
The heart of a fighter, I was inspired definitely
Though as a child, I was wild, moving recklessly
But this woman wouldn’t hesitate to step to me
To check me and let me know what she expects of me
She was fearless and expected nothing less from me
Brought out the best in me and pointed out discrepancies
To be my light to guide me through life’s complexities
So as a child, I knew it was my destiny
To kick the door of success open like sesame
It’s not perplexing me because I got the recipe
Without her lecturing that would have been the death of me
But she protected me like DOD weaponry
But through life’s brevity she left me like a refugee