I saw a flower in Compton-
down to its final breath -
spread a seed on the ground before its death
No eulogy whispered --- no tears, no shade
Just the thought that martyrs aren't born,
they're made
And so the seed grew up in Compton -
that which the concrete embraces
We see the sun still shines even in the worst of places
A flower's chosen by a lover,
and given to a girl
on a prom night to match her dress
And though the flower was weak
and drab in color,
no girl's ever been more in happiness
Hung flowers from the ceilings ---
they never do die
How to cheat death
is just to remember a time
Girl moves from Compton to Hollywood-
wants to never go back
But as she learns things aren't that different
on either side of the track,
she sits in her bed and thinks in her head
that she wants to go back
As she still keeps that flower
over her bed,
She remembers and she smiles through all the pain
And because she smiles
and a smile's the greatest of things,
we know that flower didn't die in vain