The Gates

Tell the Reverend Harris to pray for me, Lord
 I ain't gonna live
 I don't believe I'm gonna live to get much older
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 Lights out, so peaceful, stressless
 Things used to seem so restless
 Forgive me, please, see I need to address this
 Just haven't been this breathless since I met this
 Woman who lept into my life when I was reckless
 Mothered my blessed kid, but was destined to exit early
 Guess you can say I've been blessed with the best gifts
 Reminiscing, holding her necklace in my clenched fist
 Ha, it's funny how we move in sudden directions
 Dedicated my life to the public's protection
 Never remarried 'cause love's an investment
 Besides, I had a baby girl to worry about
 That would struggle to blend in
 Now as I think, a weightlessness is interrupting my senses
 A pulsing tension carries my very frame
 I rise up in ascension, wait!
 I try to escape, but I arrive at these gates
 I see a figure standing guard who invites me to pray
 I tried it on
 At the gates of Hell
 I'm going to lay
 Down, down
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 I walk towards the figure that's extending its hand
 I move to enter past the gates, yet I'm met with its grasp
 "Slow down son, there's things to discuss such as family
 But first, let us talk about vanity"
 Vanity? Man, you're sadly mistaken
 Either that or your sanity's shaken
 If you'd examine me patiently
 You'd retract on your statement
 I haven't sinned flagrantly, I've acted as faithfully
 As any other single father
 Who raised a baby girl graciously
 Nakedly, she was at your door after her mother's death
 Ignorant to racial anger and other stress
 Later had a mixed baby at her sweet 16
 How did that fit within your picnic scene?
 Sometimes it's too late to fix these things
 The pristine dream was over
 Had to face the fact she split these genes with his sick seed
 With skin the darkest pigment seen
 And so I kicked and screamed
 Until we found the peace that distance brings
 A mixed raced queen, that was your thoughts about her mama
 Up yonder went her soul, your hate growed from ponders
 On life, being less trife with a white wife
 So any instance of y'alls differences it was slice-slice
 Oh my, it's not her race, my daughter's love flies blind
 I couldn't take her making the same mistakes that crushed my life
 I'm dumbstruck by these baseless allegations
 I've saved too many lives of all creeds
 For you to paint me as a racist
 Endangered my own safety to save babies from blazes
 Black, White, Latino, even Asian on occasion
 But why so?
 How dare you question my motivation!
 No need to second guess, your only aim was to be famous
 Lord knows, you've left behind scorched souls
 Black children left chilling, later found burnt whole
 So sadly, your glory's to come urgently
 Sentenced to fight fires for eternity