Libertad

I.

I first saw Freedom from my building’s rooftop,
nestled between skyscrapers, wrapped in
milky stars. Her effervescent lips
kissed me every night, as I plucked at my guitar.

She drew me away from hiding,
made my memories richer, I followed
her to California sunsets,
and Hong Kong skylines.

I studied her from afar, and
got to know her better, and time
showed me her truer colors.

II. 

Freedom came to man as a fiery flower, 
she freed our limitations, 
shattered food chains and 
shifted our position.

We used her to cook our food,
enhance our weapons, she nurtured
us and kept us safe, her warmth
evolved us into Man.

But with her fire, Freedom brought
her twin. For she could not exist, 
without Slavery in our midst.
And just as Man evolved, so too,
did slavery follow suit.

III.

We traded iron shackles
for student debt, freedom 
for our comfort, ball and chains
for smart phones. 

We substituted warriors
for entrepreneurs,
and gave up our integrity
for attention.

We switched out plantation owners
for corporations.
Capitalism runs on our greed, 
invading and training 
death squads disguised 
as ‘freedom’ fighters,
teaching Afghan boys
how to be terrorists. 

Our modern day slavery
is dressed in Louis Vuitton
and Red Bottoms, opulence
and commercialism
enslaves us to believe
we are not enough.

IV.

But freedom was never
meant to be granted by
some benevolent 
despot, bestowed as
a reward for belief in 
false gods.

Freeing your mind from
the illusion of the chase,
the guilt of not hustling harder.

When we sever the 
ropes that oppressors
hold us down with,
when we stand together
and erase our races,
when we overcome 
white noise
and tune our souls to 
higher frequencies, 
we can see the truth, all along 
Freedom lies within.