LYTE'S PRAYER FOR THE DYING

"He knows he's leaving, not much time left
Holding on to his very last breath
I saw him last week, nervous and uptight
Losing sleep, stays up all night
Wishin' he woulda used his mind and not rushed
to push in the bush but took his time
to get to know the girl he slapped skins with
shared needles with
Wish he could go back, change the direction
But now he's got the infection
I spoke to him, gave him inspired words
I'm sure he's heard
live by the sword, die by the sword
What's left, pray to the oh Lord
You can deny but the truth will unfold
because the eyes are the soul
Eyes are the soul
Eyes are the soul"

--MC Lyte, "Eyes Are The Soul" (1991)

And George Jones recently had the wanton hubris to declare that rap isn't music. Not only is it music, George, but at its most lyrically potent, as on MC Lyte's best single (and that's really saying something), it's poetry.

"Eyes Are The Soul"