When the Storm is Forgotten

When the storm remains distant

We are heroes of complacency

Puffed chest and swollen pride

We hate ourselves in ways

Only the deepest love could recognize

When the storm remains distant

There is no such thing as us

There is only dollar and dynamite

Gunpowder and fiery God

The churches are filled with women and children

The men pray only in case of emergency

We worship a foreign truth

And only death will stamp our passport

When the storm remains distant

There is no afterlife

Most die unborn

Most live unloved

Disappointment takes on new names and costumes

The future is stillborn and disfigured

The womb becomes an airtight safe

Darkness swallows darkness

When the storm remains distant

Nothing is as is

Songs are opiates

Sleep is the burial ground of dreams

Happiness is a lie

Sex is where love is not

When the storm remains distant

We are unreminded and dare to forget

School is a fashion show

Violence is comfort food

Family is nothing

And nothing is real

When the storm remains distant

Niggas are free to be Niggas

Niggers, Black, you name it

Anything but one thing

Everything but nothing

Even with a shitload of platinum

Wrapped around his neck

Like a southern tree gone petrified

Screw face pearly gate-mouth

Tangled nectar of the stars

When the storm remains distant

Stars are retired drug dealers nicknamed God

Rapists with pretty voices

And anyone but anyone who shines

When the storm remains distant

The sun is flawless in its magnitude

The heavens reflect breath of angels

The people bask in themselves

The storm is forgotten

When the storm is forgotten

The waters, ‘though they rise,

Fail to threaten

The people march backwards

from ashes to ashen,

Whiplash, car crash, Cash Money,

Some Niggas eat diamonds for breakfast

Pursue cheap labor, Enslave God

When the storm is forgotten

Poets are meteorologists

Behold, the farmers almanac

The sheep wake up and congregate

The litany begins

When the storm is forgotten

The struggle ends

May the storm never be forgotten.

— Saul Williams

SAUL WILLIAMS TOUR SCHEDULE

SEPTEMBER

16 Power Plant@Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, CANADA [music]

17 Ear to the Ground Festival Toronto, Ontario CANADA [music]

18 Pepper Jack Cafe, Hamilton, Ontario CANADA [music]

23 MTV Festival, Barcelona, SPAIN [music]

30 Hendrix College, Conway, AK [spoken word]

OCTOBER

6 Millersville Univ., Millersville, PA [spoken word]

31 Fox Theater Boulder, CO [music] *

NOVEMBER

1 In the venue, Salt lake City, UT [music] *

3 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC [music] *

4 Showbox, Seattle, WA [music] *

5 Aladdin, Portland, OR [music] *

8 Oakland University, Rochester, MI [spoken word]

10 Henry Fonda Theatre, L.A., CA [music] *

11 Fillmore, San Francisco, CA [music] *

12 Fillmore, San Francisco, CA [music]

16 SUNY New Paltz [spoken word]

* opening for My Morning Jacket

DECEMBER

2-4 All Tomorrow’s Parties, UK[music]