STRANGEST FRUIT

from Corner Stories by Orlando Watson

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lyrics

Uprooted, replanted and plucked for profit
It's proven that
We are by far thee strangest fruit in this field
Where fear is the farming tool used to damage goods produced by my fruitful population
So we tend to inherit the habit to never look cops in the face
Face forward
Head down
Disguise yourself as dead
At least they can't kill you twice
Right
I've come to this conclusion from consuming news surrounding black lives
Immortalized with Instagram captions
On what seems to be a weekly basis, but
I've seen flesh flooded with shells along the shoreline of our lineage
Like blackness is a body of water where crooked cops love to campout
I've watched war commence on colored kids
Who wither like acres of daffodils
Anchored in bodies of bloody water
Where the deceased are greeted with a deep indifference
I've witnessed
I've witnessed temperamental white teens being tamed with tasers
But black babies are often times pacified with gunfire
I've even seen people pull their phones from pockets and purses like pistols
To shoot indisputable proof
But Facebook footage is never a footprint for indictment here
The reality is
Hands up or not gunshots turn our torsos into hashtags
Therefore we format tribute tweets in attempt to retract the trauma
But that trick is never a treatment for our trail of tears
Especially when our flesh floats on cement against consent
As if we ain't already considered 3/5ths a chip off the old block
Way too black to blot or bleach
We preach on platforms digital
Reposts are pivotal
To ensure that the violent visuals are visible
See how sick political climate is critical
From transatlantic missions made miserable
Meanwhile
We watch dozens of broken bodies on breaking news
Swing from the nightly noose of headlines
Head locked by journalists who dead-stock our stories with repetitious privilege
Preventing us from ever forgetting just how well our limbs make peace with pavement
Proving that we in fact drip pain by the pint
And paint with pallets of pathological poverty
From memory
From trauma
From trying to fit into this sweet home Alabama
Georgia's still on my mind
Mississippi has four eyes and is somehow blind
To all of the strangest fruit falling from Louisiana skies
And I'm supposed to act as if everything is just peachy keen
After Apple seeds of deep-seated racism have mutilated my family tree
For centuries on end

credits

from Corner Stories, released December 3, 2021

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Orlando Watson Cleveland, Ohio

Orlando Watson is largely recognized for his thought provoking free-verse poetry accompanied by soulful compositions. Orlando’s has shared stages with acts such as: Lalah Hathaway, Braxton Cook, Keyon Harrold, Chantae Cann, Tye Tribbett, Dominick Farinacci, and Jessica Caremoore to name a few. ... more

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