I came across one of my favorite quotes in a college English literature class,

from Pierce Bysshe Shelley, a rockstar 18^th century wordsmith:

“Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”

It was a much longer reading, but the main idea became imprinted in the back of my mind,

like a mural on a wall at a bar with a stage, where poets go to perform, sing and display

the fruits of their imagination.

Be it a solo act or a collaboration,

over time those who can act, speak, sing, dance, or rhyme, make waves that others feel.

Some about love, some about hate, some about both, like Radio Raheem,

some poets rhyme, some don’t, some speak of their pain, some sing to heal.

Anger, jealousy, violence, rage, sadness, depression, long term repression,

Let it out, let it out! Nothing heals wounds like self-expression.

‘Tis no coincidence that we live in the birthplace of Hip-Hop, birthed by the youth

of a troubled place, rhyming their struggles over turntables turning,

While B-Boys started turning heads by laying down cardboard and turning on their heads,

The world had to watch, dismissal was no longer an option; bombers sprayed murals on trains,

Hip hop music got radio play, a worldwide movement, it all started with poets.

Tired, hungry, poor, and still used their talent and soul to try and have good time.

I think Shelley had it right when he wrote what he did; a poet’s potential is endless, relentless.

The world knows hip-hop – fierce, vibrant, happy, powerful; remixed, re-made and told again,

and if you trace it all back, there’s a big, fat X that’s marks the spot of it’s origins.

Poets don’t legislate like politicians;

we plant seeds with our words as the world cultivates our ambitions. – RSM

*The opinions and ideas expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the opinions of The Bronx Brand*

Ruben Muniz grew up in Wakefield and Bedford Park. He’s always known that there’s so much more to our narrative than the bad reputation that The Bronx has had for decades. He’s always looking to shatter any negative stereotypes of The Bronx with his writing.

You can follow Ruben here:
www.rubensebastianmuniz.com
Instagram: @written_by_rubes