A troubled man with a smile on his face
hides the struggles one endures with his own confusion
and inner turmoil.
Keeping his cool under the misunderstandings from others struggling with the same things
hides the fact that they aren't the ones making his blood boil.
Taxes coming out of his checks
take away money that has been honestly gained and deprive a taxpayer of the fruit of his toil.
It burns like a living coal in his soul.
A troubled man, heavy is the head, heavy was his heart as stone,
But,
somehow he managed to smile through it all although he was left on his own.
He walks with a hot chip on his shoulder,
A product of his environment, he became a rebel,
a revolutionary soldier.
Deep down he longs for a way out,
To escape the ghetto’s never-ending bout.
A troubled man, heavy is the head, heavy was his heart as stone,
A troubled young man roams.
His future uncertain, his past certainly full of woes.
With every step, he feels the heavy weight of the street,
where survival is tough and violence is fleet.
He dreamed of a better future, a life far away,
but when he left for another place,
it seemed the ghetto was a locale he was forced to stay.
But his spirit became strong and his heart filled up with hope.
He knows he will make it out,
He’ll just have to wait on that day and until then he’ll cope.
Amidst the chaos he found a voice,
A pen and paper becomes his weapons of choice.
A troubled man poured out his heart in those hard times.
His words become his escape, his only lifeline.
He turned poverty into poetry and found his strength,
And in the ghetto, he finds his true self at length.
In the depths of the ghetto,
Lives a troubled young man in pain.
Knowing that one day he'll rise,
And break free from the physical and mental chains.
No longer a troubled young man,
But a survivor who reigns
Fresh as a jewel found yesterday.

I came up hard, but now I'm cool,
It was never easy playing by the rules.
I came up hard, but now I'm fine,
I'm checking trouble, moving down the line.
I came up hard, but that's ok
‘Cause I'm a troubled man,
don't get in my way.

-Tristian L.F. Ford
08/09/24
4:11a.m