Change is Inevitable
by Mark Lipman

Change is inevitable
on that we all agree.

However, it just may not be
the change that you imagine.

You see, corporations
getting tax-breaks
to move into our communities
taking over our neighborhoods
importing high-paid employees
to drive up the rents
and evict existing tenants,

while with the help of our government
all of our local stores and services get closed down
so high-end boutiques and restaurants can move in

all of which our existing residents
can’t afford to shop in,

making the cost of life
too extreme for local families
who have been living here for generations,

who for the most part
just so happen to be people
with black and brown skin,

making one think
that this is akin
to racism,

where badges and guns
replace hoods and bed-sheets.

Oh, perhaps you didn’t see
that video of our local police
beating up our neighbors

… for looking black in public?

Just how many people
did they kill this year?

Truth be told, that is the face of gentrification.

So for all those making money and profiteering from it,
this may all seem new to you …

but for the rest of us,
this is just business as usual.

So be aware, that oh yeah …
change is inevitable …

and it’s coming sooner than you think.