I Am

I am the roots that they tried to uproot,

I am the past that they rewrite as truth.

I am the stories my grandma would say,

Passed through her hands like the scars on her face.

I am the prayers whispered at dawn,

Echoes of struggle that still carry on.

I am the soul in a blues guitar,

The pain in the beat of a Kendrick bar.

They tell me I’m free, but I still feel chained,

Taught how to smile, but I’m drowning in pain.

Taught to be silent, but I gotta speak,

Taught to move fast, but I long for peace.

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I am the fire that won’t burn out,

The voice too strong to drown out.

I am the past, the now, the new,

I am the fight, I am the truth.

They tried to break me, tried to erase me,

But I rise, ‘cause I was made free.

I am the dream they tried to steal,

I am, I am, and I always will.

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I am the rhythm in the marching feet,

The sound of a heart that won’t skip a beat.

I am the ink that rewrites the page,

The hands still reaching beyond the cage.

I am the faces they never show,

The stories of pain they’ll never know.

I am the past that still ain’t healed,

The voices silenced, but I’m here still.

I am the blood in the hands that build,

The sweat in the fields, the unbroken will.

I am the beauty, the light in the storm,

I am the legend they tried to distort.

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I am the fire that won’t burn out,

The voice too strong to drown out.

I am the past, the now, the new,

I am the fight, I am the truth.

They tried to break me, tried to erase me,

But I rise, ‘cause I was made free.

I am the dream they tried to steal,

I am, I am, and I always will.

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I am the sound of ancestors’ cries,

I am the hope still burning inside.

I am the change, the breaking tide,

I am the one who won’t run and hide.

I am my mother’s strength and grace,

I am my father’s pride and pain.

I am the voice that won’t be tamed,

I am, I am, remember my name.

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I am the light they cannot shade,

I am the love they cannot take.

I am the song, that fight for us all.