Food In A Box

Poetry from 1992

I wrote previously about working out an existential platform when I was that cool boho dude in Brooklyn. I wrote four books of hiphop poetry. Hold on to your teeth.

the problem i have is this - food in a box
as an urban dweller, skill seller
im marketable, size 10 in my socks
i can find anywhere anyplace to sell and be sold to

clothes off the rack fit
i got enough snaps to pick it up if i so desire
i say wrap it up homes, flash the card
get certified 
(the hangers are wood, not wire)

so i step to the pad
quite happy - having hunted and gathered
new duds for the hoe down
so i go downtown and across the bridge
to my flat with the empty fridge

you see the problem i have is this - food in a box
can't cook for myself - gotta look to the shelf
sardines, capn crunch and crackers with the elf.
no justice

from their rack to my rack
i hang the slacks and think a minute bout being black
or whatever i am blackness wants to mack this feeling
and call it out so i can shout, now im reeling

why the hell do i dwell so well in this way
throwing empty cartons in a bag every day
and plastic at that 
and call this urban drama living fat?

maybe my grandpa could use the tool 
of forty acres and a mule
as for me i gotta have a mac and a mouse
cause that's what i learned in school
not keeping a house

so, the problem i have is this - food in a box
trust the label though im not able
to tell vitamin a from cholesterol
cant grow spinach to save my soul, yall
so i hope a honey
(in the language of the oppressed, about
the cute objects in a dress)
might cook for me
so ill convince her that my degree
is the key
to our mutual success

don't get too fresh
remember who wears the pants, who wears the dress
a situation like that works
dysfunctionally, with much pain, for better or worse
but mostly worse - they warn you ahead of time
that box is a crime

i guess the problem i have is this - food in a box
sometimes if im critical i get political
and all riled up about an issue as old has the hills
i wait for the next senate bill
and hope my choice with a pipsqueak voice 
call in to oprah and wait on the line
like this is democracy, dont worry be happy
got no ability to sway the senate my way
cept once every six for two out of a hundred
did my mission get funded?
no tell me what to do till they pass the ballot box again

eat food in a box
get sick as a dog chewing like a bump on a log
and the box maker's high on the hog
no justice

america is a super duper market
and all the food is boxed
consume it, you consumer!
spread the lies as a rumor of truth
food in a box is nutrition as proof
see the supermodel smile 
knowing all the while
(from lifestyles of the rich and famous
beat a path to her retreat for peace and she blames us)
its a bogus current affair, what nerve to try it
peddled with subliminal flair, we know but still we buy it
pay with cash if it's there or loot if it's a riot.

the problem i have is this - food in a box.
watching the idiot box for the 88th time
i promised to give the insulter the boot
for the crime of poisoning my mind 
drive in my car, to get food for the vcr
feed it and weep, if its drama i select
nothing but sheep we become if it's not in check
but a library's too unboxed with no direction
guess i check the calendar section

is there nothing i can find on my own
without some package or label to tell me
or pseudo intellectual critics to sell me
is there no soil left for me to seed
no living to possess for other than greed