Stolen

Locked up and caged
Inflicted with rage
Restricted to hate
Cuffed and detained
Prison is NOT where they’ll remain

STATISTICS
Tattooed and engraved
Our self worth has been maimed
Let down and slain,
The system warrants this pain
With the assurance it’ll happen again

NUMBERS
Ripped from families
We amount to less without them
Cuz the digits aren’t adding up
But it’s not just about them
It’s about babies that grow up parentless
And parents that lose their kids
…to the system
And we’ve lost far more than just a little bit
Caught we’re in a war with time and we’re losing it
Mostly we’re not choosing it
System imposed, we learn the ropes and stay accused of it

ACCOUNTABILITY
So tell me, who’s to blame?
When no one will claim ownership of locking young ones away
Probation and parole
Court dates and group homes
Judges and police
Why do we get our kids on loan
When others have theirs to keep?

JUSTICE
We want our babies back!
Plain and simple…
We won’t conform to a system that breaks bread off the backs of those most vulnerable
Restore and rehabilitate reentry and reiterate
Our young ones aren’t for you to take
And we’ll fight for them if it’s the last move we make
Because jail does not teach lessons
And neither does detention
Or Confinement
Or Prison
Or whatever else you wanna call the system that steals our children
From school to juvie to the state penitentiary
We’re setting limitations on our future by teaching children how not to dream

FORGOTTEN
We have not forgot them
Though they stay locked up and caged in
Inflicted with raging
Restricted to hating
Cuffed and detained in…
Prison

PRISON
…is NOT where they’ll remain

We’ll keep trying and keep fighting
And we’ll keep riding for their lives

Our kids have been STOLEN from us. They are a lot more than just STATISTICS and NUMBERS but in order to for the system to claim ACCOUNTABILITY, we must restore JUSTICE in our communities. Babies, you are not FORGOTTEN. We will never forget you to PRISON.