Barack Obama

They say the future lies within my hands

But I’m not a palm reader

I’m just an ordinary man

I don’t look in to crystal balls

And leave my fate to the cosmos

And frankly unless you’re blessed to be clairvoyant

The future…I don’t think anyone really knows

I don’t think we pay enough attention to the tides of the water

And how the political current flows

Usually we jump in to the nicest boat that comes along

And it’s either to the left or to the right we go

No compass…just navigation

Provided on a GPS system that the Fox News Network chose

Leaving us misguided without paddles

But yo I refuse to be one of those

Because I know I have the right to choose which way to float

I have the right to vote

I have the right to go left

And so I write about going left

I write my poems with my right and Barack writes speeches with his left

And I’ll continue writing until he’s the only presidential candidate left

And “they” say left handed people are artistic

But I’m the artist and Barack is in politics

Which means I use metaphors and he uses common sense

I write in breaks and pauses, he uses commas in sentences

I connect through my third eye, he uses his five senses

I count my community by the number of poems I write, he uses the American census

And he senses that the average American’s pockets lack cents and so he offers his two cents to hopefully create change

And we need change

We need a new name

If not the rhyme of politics in this country will continue to sound the same

Bush, Clinton, Bush, Bush, Clinton maybe Mcain

But I propose a remix for the American people to start spinning Barack Hussein….

Obama

The same man who wants to bring our troops back home to their babies, lovers and mamas

The same man who was born to an American mother and an East African father

The same man who wants to fund NCLB and knock 4 grand off the cost of a college education

The same man that said “that our prosperity can and must be the tide that lifts every boat;

that we rise or fall as one nation”

The same man who wants to combat the minimum wage

by creating a living wage

for every American and make adjustments for inflation

The same man who wants to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling so that women and minorities can finally challenge pay discrimination

The same man who plans to remove racial profiling as a part of local, state, and federal law enforcement regulation

And the same man who plans to create universal health care so that the sick and the poor get access to treatment and medication

And the same man that wants to provide opportunities for hopeful Americans and add some structure to immigration 

So while I am not a politician, or a mind reader, I am a poet blessed with the gift to gab

And I don’t care that some folks say that “talk” is the only form of action Barack has

Because he inspires me to speak

He inspires me to exercise my right to write

And I invite all of you in attendance to do what is right

And vote left

Vote like Barack Obama is the only presidential candidate left

Let the new sound of politics spin on and on and on

And if you need to purchase soundtrack or get some more lyrics simply go to www.barackobama.com.

Tony’s Facts: Anthony (Tony) Keith, Jr., originally from Washington, DC, has served as the Assistant Director of the Multicultural Resource Center at UNC Charlotte and is starting at Penn State in the Fall of 2008 as Assistant Director of their cultural center. He holds a Bachelors degree in Communication from the University of Maryland College Park, and a Masters in Education degree from The Pennsylvania State University. Tony is a spoken word artist and poet and has performed in numerous places such as Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago and Los Angeles, showcasing how he uses his artistry as a mechanism for creating social change.  Tony can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .