“Free as a Bird” (a poem by Ray Lewis)
You weren’t born a bird, but you were born to be great
To bring hurricanes to the bright sun state
and move quickly to the brightest stage
to write your own fable, to fulfill your destiny
That’s why you were praised for plays in the depths of December,
as you led your flock back south to warmer weather,
They called you their king, bound by purple forever,
But I see a heart, black as raven feathers.
Because you fought and fought, to achieve your main goal,
You silenced your scoffers, you won the great war
but in the war of the streets, 2 lives were the score
and although you won the trophy, you gave your soul
so caged by your actions, unable to flee,
you escaped from your bonds, and now you fly free,
you deceive a whole nation with the gospel of your beak,
But all I hear is a raven’s guilty plea
Now you roam the skies like an acquitted criminal
and devour your prey with your ring on your heels,
demanding that the world call you model and legend
so that they forget your lies and your past sins.
Who am I to judge, just a reinforcing critic,
They say it’s half the story, that I’m being a cynic
that everything is just a ploy or a selfish trick,
That is not how you start, but how you end
and it is true that I cannot judge, because I am not a judge or jury
But at the People’s court, I’ll take it a little further
‘Cause God knows I’ve been watching, and so says the bird watcher,
“When your company is crows, it is nothing but murder.”
by Alexander Camp
I hope everyone understands that this is an opinion in which I do not pretend to know the exact status of the murder allegations. I am simply giving an artistic opinion on the circumstances surrounding Ray Lewis’s career and the prosecution and involvement in the murders that took place in Tampa Bay, FL in 2000.
I hope you can view this subjectively no matter how harsh or biased your own opinion is, because I respect and encourage your thoughts and opinions as much as I would like mine to be respected and considered. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the poem.