As part of our series on youth violence, 14 year old Sheldon Fountain, Jr. reads the poem he was inspired to write about a wayward bullet killing a young girl, an innocent bystander. The poem is titled, Generally Speaking, A Reason for Poetry.
Generally Speaking, A Reason for Poetry
by Sheldon Fountain, Jr. - 2008
While watching TV once on the screen appeared a girl
The unscripted presented shot and killed across the world
This girl would never be seen again
As police race to visit this scene again
A group of young men known to be a tough gang
Says that this crime was different but I say yet together all the same
I’m thinking in my brain this dude had to be insane
Like what was this dude thinking when he
Pulled the trigger of this twenty-five cal letting bullets rip and knock her
Out her socks
With hot
Tater tot
Like rounds passing through her body and from this point on she would never
Make a sound
Her body would cease to exist all over this town
I say what if it was ya moms who couldn’t rise
And they looking at me like this dude aint nothing but jive
But what if somebody took that same 25 and shot towards ya momma thighs or
Took that same 25 and aimed at ya sisters eyes
In despise of this man who shot and killed this girl
But I guess he’ll pay his tithes
What if it was someone so evil so filled with hate that they would hurt ya whole family
Just to see you ache but
You did murder this little girl let’s still keep in mind
What if they aimed at you with no screams any cries just a heartless
Young man who thought it was yo time
Oh! It’s not so misdemeanor now
But what makes your life more valuable than this little girl’s
Oh you must think you worth what diamonds and pearls but you’re not worth nothing if
You stood cold heartedly aim load shot over a couple of words that traveled way past ya
Voice box
And I’m shocked ‘cause you just caused another woman do die
Even though breast cancer kills numbers of them at a time
But when this girl died it’s something that you didn’t see
When you killed her you murdered a part of me
I guess that’s why I’m a lyricist that’s why I put poetry through ya ear
So you can see that it’s worth more than a golden chandelier
Maybe that’s how I got here
The point is to change the world and don’t let it change its self
Cause positive change is up to us and we all we got left