We're you there when the Earth Shook?

Were You There When the Earth Shook

1989 Quake, October 17

I was there

Hustling battle of the Bay T-shirts

World Series

On Mission St Eastbay Terminal

Then the shaking

Bricks fell off buildings

Latina woman pulled me into cove for safety

Caught bus to Oakland

On the bridge

It fell car went down

We walked back to terminal

Went to Tenderloin for Crack

TL dark

Arabs selling liquor candle light

Niggas line up

Enter one by one

Get Crack rent SRO room

Hindu Hilton

Smoke get paranoid

Run down Market Street

People running to and fro

Shocked going coming

Walking running in middle of Market St

No BART

Headed to Ferry

Street flooded

Stopped at Embarcadero hotel

Guests eating outside

Join them

Feel safe with white people

Tenderloin too dark

Darkies looting

Glad I escaped TL

Spooked

Cool now

White folks cool

Hotel serving wine

Giving blankets

Soon wanted ferry ride home

Waded water across Embarcadero

White man coming back

I say think I can get on ferry

He say yeah you and ten thousand others!

Got to ferry

He was right

Ten thousand people trying to get ferry to Oakland

Saw blacks with glow lights

Pushing through crowd

Got behind them

Pushed too

We got on

Praise be to Allah

Got to Jack London Square

Stopped at Merriot for drink

Called estranged woman

She say come on over

Crack head fucker!

And then came Xmas in October

Vouchers for food clothes

Hotel restaurant first last rent

Furniture beds refrigerator washer and dryer 

Niggas in new suits pushing shopping carts

Eating steak lobster at Sizzler

Vouchers

Sell steak lobster outside Sizzler

For Crack

Trade vouchers to dope dealer for Crack

Nigga Xmas in October

Freeway fell

Brother in-law saved people

Fake news said niggas was stealing from the Dead

Niggas don't save people

Niggas steal!

And so it is!

--Marvin X 

10/17/19