If I had known that my mother would pass,
I woulda squeezed the life outta chemistry class
I woulda majored in virology at a medical college;
Learned to surgically remove the problem with my knowledge
Got sick of hearing oncology, and radiology and therapy;
Felt like a coward all I could do was give to charity
Hoping they’d find a cure, watched my mother endure,
She would tell me she was fine but I was never sure
Hated the smell of hospital tours; morbid like formaldehyde
They told me she was gonna make it and she died
I thought about the, medical bills
Their pricey promises to heal… they lied
This is the woman that I started inside
She was so soft and warm; the carcinoma left her cold and dried
How could I not think pink this time of year
October 26, ’05 choking back the tears
And everybody knows somebody with it
Sweaty palms for influenza, but this here’s a bigger epidemic
And plus it doesn’t just affect the women
A small percentage of men, who don’t like to admit it
And so I watch the way I treat myself; eat to my health
Be sweet to myself, cuz I’m prolly at risk
But I won’t be a statistic; I’m optimistic as my momma’s spirit
Teachin’, you hear it? Listen…

[Hook]
Even the sky was pink… this morning
It was so warm and, that’s the way I gotta think about
Gotta be optimistic; even when I know
It’s stormin’… stormin…

Do I complain, I know I’m wrong for it
I don’t believe the change comes unless you long for it
Lord forgive me, but put it on the record that I’m askin
…Hate my job, but never absent
I could be teacher of the year and see nothing to bask in
Emotions on my sleeve, too many to make them
From comedy to tragedy to harmony with madness
Crazy to be complacent; you’d better watch the quiet ones
I tried it once, just tired from biting my tongue
Making me skinny from the diet and numb every day I’m looking
Forward to the riot to come; it ain’t righteous but it’s
Better than won-dering which one of us, might just
Snap under the pressure, I snap on beats and measures
And clap in the Pursuit of Happiness cuz I believe in something better
If not for the profession for the people in it
This is not an industry; teaching is a ministry
Where will we go, if we don’t save it
You never thought about it; our future’s nothing to play with
I’m optimistic cuz I have no other option
Schools don’t give in to abortion, schools don’t put up for adoption
Schools don’t bring them in this world, but we bring them into the knowledge of it
So we gotta fight, because its right, we can’t put up wit
The way they come at us, it’s all wrong
Twenty successful centuries, the argument is strong
So were we backwards all along, or just all of a sudden
In this Microsoft world of push button… think about it

[Hook]
Even the sky was pink… this morning
It was so warm and, that’s the way I gotta think about
Gotta be optimistic; even when I know
It’s stormin’… stormin…

I still hear the Sounds of Blackness
Know the answer when I’m tested, is not talkin about practice
But the fact this, generation is radioactive
From generation wax to generation compact disc

That’s me, and then there’s generation mp3
Rotation without the circle; the illustration matches
I’m committed to the gathering and tougher than the scratches
While these kids are singularities and given to detachment
I cop the solid gold album, not the hot single
There’s no respect between perspectives, so we don’t mingle
Gotta meet em where they at, like a scaredy cat, feed em
Be the company of people that need ‘em
So I family’d em, like Ron Clark but on a lesser scale
Not to a lesser degree, cuz high school is hell
Graduation is cool, but are you doing well
I know you miss your brother; I know he’s doing 12
But he’ll be through in 12, its’ what you choose to dwell…
On, he needs to hear that when you hello on the jail
Phone, optimism you should add it to your essay-
T--- it’s knowing which direction to look, before you see
I’m lookin up to find the Word, God
Dictionaries can’t define this occupation where the odds are stacked
I don’t know why, but I like to play the odds back
Permanence of truth vs. the temporary haaard facts
Mourning may endure for a night
I’m out the door before the sun can even give me good light
Gotta find my own shine and invite, cold hands and warm hearts
To gather round the fire I start
Every morning