In my neighborhood about fifteen years ago, guys used to carry bog boom boxes playing loud rap music on the way to school.  One day,       while walking with his boom box, a boy was shot by two thugs while       trying to keep his music from being stolen. Here is a poem focusing on what might have been had he lived.

The Boom Box Kid        

 

There was a kid that lived in my own "hood"

He wore those Nikes, looking awfully good.

His name was Peanut.  He could jam all day

With that loud boom box he loved to play.

He could move and sway to that DC city beat,

Never missing a step or ever resting his feet.

 

Peanut rapped with people like Ja Rule

And Fifty Cent made him act like a fool.

His idol had been LL Cool J.

Who could forget the  group Kid 'N Play?

His goal was to become so rich with rap.

But he ditched school, often taking a nap.

 

Soon he dropped out and said, "What's the use?"

He hung out with his homies, gangs, and crews.

To his surprise, he found out something more.

Even rappers like 2 Pac used metaphor.

"You mean to tell me rap is poetry!",

He asked another rapper wannabe.

 

"You would have known that if you'd stayed in school."

His buddy told him he was just a fool.

Peanut was drenched in deep thought that day

A good education will lead to good pay.

So he decided to roll up his socks

At home he stored that big, loud boom box.

 

He went to school and studied. What a joy!

The Boom Box Kid became a brilliant boy.

He was respected and praised in the "hood."

He went on to college.  I knew that he could.

Learning a great lesson before it was too late

With a good education he had become first rate.

 

Barbara Lois Fullard © 2005