Preamble: This is a story of me stopping to talk to a young man on the train, about
youth knife crime and youth gun crime that is currently on the streets. The
following is what I said at The Meat:
I said, my name is Alph Arley
I know that you’re certainly pleased to meat me,
Because, I know I’m certainly pleased to meat you
He had his, face straight, straight faced
I said that now hold on Young’un
Let’s get one thing straight, I am not trying to speak to
you, to beef you,
I thought to myself, I am not trying to speak to you, to
beef you?
As I was thinking, there was fire in his eyes, that probably
caused his thoughts to fry
He was probably thinking like who is this guy?
Like, I thought to
myself, like Alph look what you gone and did,
What you gone and did? I meant to say, what you gone and
done
I thought to myself,
like Alph well done,
Well done, because before you begun, He wants you to go
stuff yourself,
He wants you to sow yourself up, he wants you strung and
hung
I said now hold on Young’un, ease yourself in your chair and
open your ears,
I steadied my tonsils and prepared, while I readied my nostrils and flared, as I
asked
as I asked, why do I smell bad blood in the air?
I said, let’s make
one thing extremely clear, to find me in beef is extremely, rare
I said, what I’m saying is, Young’un
How I’m going cook my
words up, is how your minds going to eat it
All I’m trying to be is a medium to you, to mediate with you
But, this right here, let’s make it clear,
what I have said
already, is me going medium with you
I said, now Young’un before you say some’un, let me turn up
the heat,
My apologies, if my
words cut deep, but please, before you speak listen to me speak
I said, listen up Young’un, I see the youths on the streets
On the streets, there packing their heat, there upping the
degrees to their beef
To their beef, the youths are using and abusing knives in public view
In public view, to cut through, meat to bone and more bone to
meat
It seems to me, that it is a whole heap, of bones and meat,
their cutting through
Like Young’un, let me
tell you some’un
I see that the youths,
with their beef, they try to chew
They try to chew, but the beef they struggle to get through
It's true, the youths chew, chew then they chew off more than
they can chew, it's true
It’s true, that nowadays youths are using knives, with their
lives and prides at stake
Talking about, peppering and corning each other whilst
putting knives in a public place
Public place? I meant to say, whilst putting knives in a
public plate
As medics make way, to put youths in bags, to
take away
I said, now before you say some’un Young’un, like I know
that every youth nowadays
Nowadays, is entitled to make mistakes
I admit, I have made many mistakes myself in my days
But Young’un all i’m trying to say, is,
Treating yourself and each other, as pieces of meat, is
surely not the only way
