i laced my shoes with sorrow and walked a weary road dead end streets don't come undone with double knots wing tipped shoes that walk on air through vacant lots
For all the ghosts and corpses that shall never know the breath of our children so long for the sacrifice and endurance of our mothers and the sustained breath of our fathers we live
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the sacrifices made by previous generations in order for us to live and thrive today.
Saul Williams' quote speaks to the profound influence of our ancestors and the legacy they leave behind. It emphasizes the sacrifices and endurance of mothers and fathers, acknowledging that our very existence is a result of their struggles and resilience. The reference to 'ghosts and corpses' serves as a metaphor for those who have passed away, reminding us of the importance of honoring their memory and the sacrifices that came before us. Ultimately, it is a tribute to the familial ties that bind us across generations.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a memorial event honoring ancestors.
More from Saul Williams
All quotes →There is no music more powerful than hip-hop. No other music so purely demands an instant affirmative on such a global scale. When the beat drops, people nod their heads, “yes,” in the same way that they would in conversation with a loved one, a parent, professor, or minister.
Have you ever lost yourself in a kiss? I mean pure psychedelic inebriation. Not just lustful petting but transcendental metamorphosis when you became aware that the greatness of this being was breathing into you. Licking the sides and corners of your mouth, like sealing a thousand fleshy envelopes filled with the essence of your passionate being and then opened by the same mouth and delivered back to you, over and over again - the first kiss of the rest of your life.
We are unraveling our navels so that we may ingest the sun. We are not afraid of the darkness. We trust that the moon shall guide us. We are determining the future at this very moment. We know that the heart is the philosopher's stone. Our music is our alchemy.
Why shouldn't rap be esoteric, able to take in current events, history and criticism? I guess it's this old idea of containment - that rappers, because they're black, can't and shouldn't aspire to look outside the ghetto for influence.
A lie preserved in stained glass doesn't make it more true.
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You have to really respect what your kids are doing with their kids and how they're raising them. You can't push your way into areas where you shouldn't be saying anything. You have to always remember they're not your own kids. Play with them, love them, spoil them to death - then hand them back.
I've been blessed in many ways, but none of the heights from football can ever compare to the depths you go through when you lose a child.
I have lived with extraordinary women, whether it was my grandmother, my mother. My father passed away when I was 16... I was witness to a woman who single handedly brought up the entire family and managed to do everything... She was an extraordinary role model for me.
The children in this country are the one center and focus of all our thoughts. Every step of our advance is always considered in its effect on them-on the race. You see, we are MOTHERS, she repeated, as if in that she had said it all.
My parents raised me and my siblings in an armor of advice, an ocean of alarm bells so someone wouldn't steal the breath from our lungs, so that they wouldn't make a memory of this skin.
My professional and personal roots in Alabama are deep and lasting.