Call on me

"If There Be Pain, All u need 2 do is call on me 2 Be with u"- 2Pac

When I was in middle school I had a crush on this boy. He never paid much attention to me. I remember listening to love songs and writing sappy love poems for him, though I never had the courage to give them to him, but I would show my friends. We would all "ooo" and "aaaah" over them. I think this was the first time that I started to write and enjoy love poems. I look back on this now, and I just laugh at how cute and innocent I was.

Writing is a form of expressing how you feel and feelings about love or romance are seen a lot through poems or song lyrics. In his "If There be Pain" poem, Tupac writes about the support he can provide if his lover is in pain. I interpret this poem as being written for a romantic lover, but can also be dedicated to a family member. Tupac is demonstrating how much he cares for this person. He puts love first, and assures that love CAN and WILL conquer all. "If There be Pain" is a poem that I think many of us can relate too. In middle school I thought I knew what love was or even meant. Back then, I could have bet my life that my feelings were the same as the ones in this poem. I eventually realized that I was completely wrong. Now that I am older I have truly experienced what love is. I experienced love first hand when I had my son. The moment I looked into his eyes, I knew I would do anything for him so he would never feel pain. When you love someone you want to do everything for them. The same feeling Tupac writes about in this poem is exactly how I feel towards my loved ones.

Under the skies

"A part of me and a part of u, a part of this love we share"-2Pac

When I first read this poem I felt a little bit confused. I have been a fan of Tupac for a long time but I never knew he had children. In this poem he states that he actually did. This poem is dedicated to his baby he lost due to a miscarriage. This must be a very hard experience for anyone to go through. I have known people who have had this horrible thing happen to them and it is very hard to overcome. Tupac gives us his point of view as a father. When a couple first becomes pregnant, there is a sense of joy and anticipation. When the pregnancy does not happen, it is a near fatal wound to the heart. I believe Tupac explains this in his poem. He questions his potential to be a great father. The part that strikes me the most in this poem is the fact that regardless of what happened, he loves his child. There is no greater love than that of a parent towards their child. Many people during this time lose faith in God, Tupac does not. He knows that God has a plan for him and he writes, “I welcome this gift from GOD under the skies above". I think this is where Tupac gets his strength; I believe he understands that even though his child did not live, his child is still out there under the skies just like an angel. He knows his child is an angel now, watching over him. As sad as this poem is, I have to add it to the list of favorites. I truly like it because it is a hard topic to write about, but sometimes it is a topic that needs to be addressed.

Under the Skies Above (After the Miscarriage)

My child is out there somewhere

under the skies above

waiting anxiously 4 u and me

2 bless it with our love

A part of me a part of u

and a part of this love we share

will protect my unborn child

who lives dormant out there somewhere

Sometimes in my dreams

I imagine what it would be like

How could I properly guide him

when even  I don't know what's right

Whether he is born in wealth or poverty

there will be no deficiency in love

I welcome this gift of life

given from GOD under the skies above.

-2pac

I Also Cry

"I cry Because my Heart is Torn and I find it difficult 2 carry on"

 I have always been a very sentimental person. I believe in the goodness of others and I am in love with fairy tale endings. I usually always cry for sad ending in movies. I have cried for so many things in my life I should be all cried out by now. A lot of those tears have been shed in the solitude of my room. I have cried when I am alone just because I am lonely. In this manner I feel I can connect with Tupac’s words in his poem “Sometimes I Cry”. He mentions how he cries when he is alone, because he feels he is on his own.  Many of us have felt alone at one time or another in our lives. What I love most about Tupac’s writing is how deep he goes into his feelings. I think this is one of his poems in which he shows himself and his vulnerability. I like the line in which he writes “But who do u know that stops that long to help another carry on”.  I think this is important because as human beings we all have our busy lives and schedules. Sometimes we do not take the time to notice when people need some companionship or just someone to listen. We all need to feel loved and wanted by our friends and family members. When you are feeling down you want people to comfort you and sympathize with you. In many cases we don’t always have a support system during hard times, and so we end up feeling very alone. In my own experience I have felt alone, and that no one cares about what is going on to me. It is important for us to show our feelings at times and reach out for help when we feel we need it. Once we do so, then we can realize that sometimes alone does not necessarily mean lonely. 

Dear Men

"But why must you be unfaithful if her heart is true 2 u!!!!"

Dear men, why must you be unfaithful? The part that I love most about this poem is the fact that it is written by a man for men. Relationships can be complicated at times but all they require is constant work. I remember a couple I knew in high school. They were a cute couple perfect for each other. They had been dating since middle school and in their words they "loved each other". To those of us who knew them it was a difficult to believe them. They often cheated on each other and were constantly breaking up. I remember asking her one day, why don't you just break up with him and move on? Her response was that for all the times he had cheated on her, she had done the same. For them this was normal, to me it was absurd. Eventually they ended up breaking up for good; there is no way they could have ever lived happily. In the case of my class mates they both cheated on each other, in many cases men who finally find the perfect woman are the ones who cheat. Tupac mentions in his poem that it is sad when a woman is faithful and devoted to her partner but he cannot do the same for her. I think that both people must devote themselves to one another and their relationship will grow. I loved how Tupac was a romantic even though he was seen as a tough guy.

There still is hope

"And 2morrow I wake with second wind And strong because of pride 2 know I fought with all my heart 2 keep my dream alive"-2pac

"And 2morrow" is a poem that you will find under the section "Liberty Needs Glasses" of the book. The reason this is one of my favorite poem is because in a way it tells the reality of our world. Many times in life we find ourselves feeling defeated, for a number of different reasons. We feel like giving up for all the injustice that happens in our own backyard. Yet, we do not realize that there is always a tomorrow. Tupac wrote and rapped a lot about children, he wanted all the kids to be raised in a better world, a world free of drugs, violence and poverty. To this day many kids are suffering these same problems. They are raised in a place where they have to fight every day to survive. Most of us are lucky enough to have a family to support us, but the reality is that many kids are struggling and the only thing they know is violence. If we put ourselves in these people’s shoes, we might realize how difficult each day for them really is. Many people who are born in to upper and middle class take a lot of things for granted. 

When I read this poem I think about the people who are trying to make it day by day. I think about all the anger and hate they must have towards those who have failed them, whether it is family, society, or even our own government. The United States is known as the land of the American dream. Many people from all over the world come to this country to achieve their dreams. We all have a dream and it is up to us to chase after it. Towards the end of his poem Tupac mentions how tomorrow will be a better day with different opportunities to make those dreams come true. I admire his courage not to give up and to continue to fight to keep his dream alive. This poem opens my eyes and makes me realize that sometimes we must never lose faith in what we believe in.

Immortal words

"Let's change the way we eat, lets change the way we live, and let's change the way we treat each other".- Tupac

 I must have been about 12 years old when I heard my first Tupac song. It was titled "Changes" and I could not get enough. I never really was into rap music. That genre of music had a bad reputation and my mom was not too thrilled in having me listen to it.  When I heard “Changes” it was different, the song had meaning to me. I remember recording the song from the radio and listening to it over and over again. I wrote down the lyrics and realized that when the words were read out loud they just flowed so beautifully. It was a perfect poem; I felt that I understood what he was saying because he rapped from the heart.


 It was after listening to this song that I became his number one fan. I purchased all of his CD’s and looked up lyrics to his songs, I realized that he was much more than a rapper he was a poet.  The issues he rapped about were so powerful and controversial. He rapped about poverty, politics, racism, and violence. His music was much more than drugs, money and women. I also learned about Tupac and his life. He had been murdered in Las Vegas in 1996, but his music was timeless. I soon learned about his passion for writing, I was introduced by one of my teachers to a compilation of his poems and thoughts titled “A Rose that Grew from Concrete”. It was a collection of his writing discovered after his death. I was inspired by his writing and started writing my own poems and thoughts. A lot of what he writes about is very powerful for me. My life at times has been hard and I have been faced with many obstacles that I have had to surpass. At times when I have felt discouraged I turn to his poetry. I like to read his poems and reflect on my own life. 

I'm writing this blog because I want to share some of his work with you. I think that his words are immortal and I feel that we all still are able to learn and reflect on his words. I will be posting some of his work from his book and just reflecting upon it and how it applies to my life now. I hope you enjoy my posts and feel free to comment any thoughts.