Met this man in harlem
Asked me for a lighter
Told me he didn’t want nothing
Said he was a black man
I called him brown, had a brown hand
Shook mine. Told me to be honest
Told me he wasn’t looking for profits
Told me the difference between us and the rest
Is the rest look for distractions to disguise the stress
Asked me who I was
Asked me if I really knew who I was
I didn’t
He said I’d say my name, my job, where I’m from
Wished I was different - wanted to prove him wrong
Told him my name, my job, and where I came from
Asked me if I knew about love
Told him I knew a little bit
Asked me if I really knew about love
Told him I did, but not much
Told me true love needs loyalty
True love needs truth
True love needs respect
Told him love can’t work without any one of them
Here I am - one of them
Always have been
Shook my hand again -
Asked me for a dollar
Told him I didn’t have cash
And I didn’t
told me he had 8 dollars, he could use one
He’d have 7 after he bought a battery
He turned around with a smile
Told me to enjoy myself
I walked away - head over shoulder protecting myself
Drunk guy in the train-station below
Cigarette in his mouth screaming at a machine
That can’t hear a word he’s saying
I’m that machine,
being yelled at by a man who just wants something from me
I can’t give him anything-
Not truth, not money, not a thing.
