alexander hamilton

how does a bastard

orphan

son of a whore and a

scotsman

dropped in the middle of a forgotten

spot in the caribbean by providence

impoverished

in squalor

grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

the ten-dollar founding father without a father

got a lot farther by working a lot harder

by being a lot smarter

by being a self-starter

by fourteen

they placed him in charge of a trading charter

and every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted

away across the waves

he struggled and kept his guard up

inside

he was longing for something to be a part of

the brother was ready to beg

steal

borrow

or barter

then a hurricane came

and devastation reigned

our man saw his future drip

dripping down the drain

put a pencil to his temple

connected it to his brain

and he wrote his first refrain

a testament to his pain

well

the word got around

they said

this kid is insane