EMANCIPATION (3x)

Every man for himself
Means no man for himself
Allowing myself to protect him
Never talk to my brother like that
Cause words cut faster than swords
In a heartbeat he could be gone
Perhaps a word could free him
And free my mind at the same time
That freeing feeling is within all of us
Instincts to invest in everyone
Or else protect
No one

Every time I die a little inside
Means weeping a lot indoors
And sometimes it goes away outdoors
Never changing its pattern of
Charismatic sadness
Inside a cage, just waiting for a
Person to embrace the key
And unlock it
Then the flood gates open
Inundating grief with hope
Oh, let all the people go
No, let all the people know, God

Every woman for herself
Means patriarchy putting up bars
And cell blocks
Never allowing assembly
Capturing every bit of wisdom
Instinctively explaining the days away
Potentially impotent
And occasionally important yet
Too toxic, with fists clenched around
Incendiary sticks that men hold
Or was it a torch that
No one held, until Harriet did