To Whom It May Or May Not Concern (Letter From Beyond)

My current job brings me into contact with those young people and children that choose violence as a way of life. For many, they never get to gain an understanding of the pain and suffering that they inflict until they are sitting in the prison cell reflecting on their actions. With the recent death of a friends' son through violence of this kind I felt that I had to send another message to our youth.

To whom it may or may not concern

I write this letter to you from a happy place
I am sorry that I cannot be with you in person
And for a moment I was not certain
Just why I could not
I was lost
Now I am found
And homebound
So before I settle in
To what you may understand to be peace
I have a few words to convey
Thoughts that I need to release

You see my current journey was not planned
My destination is not on any map
I packed no suitcase
Carry no passport
For there is no border to cross
Although I do believe that I have crossed over

As I look down upon those that I have left behind
I see that they call me a fallen soldier
Yet as far as I am aware
I fought in no war
Actually
I am sure
That I carried no gun
Took no sides in any battle
And simply lived a happy life
With only everyday strife as my cross to bear
So I wonder now
What I am doing here

And in turn you may well wonder
Why I speak to you
What we have in common
What ties bind us together
What pleasures
What pains
Did we walk hand in hand
Through sunshine and rain
Did we love and laugh as one
Did we make plans
Was there a familiar song that we sang

I have had time to ponder these questions
And still have no answers
I hear them say that it was my time
But it wasn’t
At least not until you made the decision to make it my time
And I wondered why
You would do such a thing
As you now sit alone in your twelve by four
On B Wing
Do you wonder too
What you have done to my family
My friends
My woman
My child
Your mother
Your Father
Your brother who idolised you
Your girl
The witness who saw you
Rip open my stomach
And force your blade into my ribcage
Do you still consider
What you have done to me

What you have done to you

I float up and up
I will eventually reach the top
As you float down and further down
Your tears will continue to flow
As a reminder
Of your pride and foolish ego
Boy!
You were truly tripping out
Do you remember as clearly as I do
Your breas shouting the words
“Shank Him”
Of course you do
And I bet that you
Sit in that lonely cell
Wondering what your boys are doing now
I know
Because I can see
I’m the silent observer sitting in the tree
They’re going about their business
Searching for new recruits to initiate
Well yours didn’t go too great
Did it?

Don’t worry the pain has gone
My only regret was that I couldn’t say goodbye to my Pops and mum
And that I couldn’t say goodbye to my girl
Or my baby boy
Oh yeah
And that I couldn’t finish my exams
In my final year
Before you put me here

Did you know that I had a real good send off
Flowers and tears and all my friends were there
Felt sorry for my mums
With the crying and stuff
First time I've ever seen a tear from my Pops

But you know what
I hope things work out for you
From where I am
I can see that you are a nice guy
You just made a bad decision
Not sure if I should tell you this
But I overheard the judge say
That if you get found guilty
Then a life sentence is coming your way
Hey mate!
You better get used to that twelve by four
Cos’ the jury’s coming back through the door

Oh here we go
Damn
Guilty on all counts
25 to life
Minimum of 15
Bang goes the gangsta
And the gangsta’s dreams
But listen bro'
Just wanted to say
That I’d like to forgive you
For taking my life in this way
But I can’t
You see I didn’t do you any wrong
Who cares if you don’t know me
Or which ends I was from
You don’t own the ends
So there’s nothing to defend
Wanted to prove yourself and get a rep
Well listen cuz'
It’s not over yet
Your boys didn’t even turn up for the verdict
They’ve been there before
Straight up
They’ve heard it
Word for word
They’ve detached themselves
You’re expendable
Got no cash and no wealth
So they’re not holding on to a loser like you
They’re not going to visit where you’re going to
And where you’re going
You’re not the bad man
Don’t pick up the soap
You gets' me
You unnerstan'

But hey listen
I’m seeing some gates up ahead
That looks like St Peter waving
Damn!
St Peter’s a dread!

He’s calling me over
So I have to go
But I’ll come back in your nightmares
Each night
You dun know!

Yours Faithfully....