I Am...
Black history and her story.
Trap music and hot wings.
Tupac and Ella.
Lorraine and James.
Literary greats and subject of white hate.
Watermelon in the summer.
Chicken after church.
Laugh until it hurts.
Praise and rage.
Rage, rage, rage!
September 3, 2016
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Even if...
Even if I smile every time you see me.
Even if I speak lightly, and politely.
Even if I keep my opinions to myself.
Even if I accumulate my own wealth.
Even if I graduate Magna Cum Laude.
Even if I believe in one God.
Even if I gravitate away from Debate.
Even if I hide from the chatter.
Even if I'm quiet as they yell, "Black Lives Matter".
I'll still be a nigger to the white folks
and acting "white" to the black folks.
There is no win for me here, so I wait on the wind of change
and pray I don't get short changed, this time.
Even if I am hopeful, my people are still hopeless...
August 31, 2016
Even if I speak lightly, and politely.
Even if I keep my opinions to myself.
Even if I accumulate my own wealth.
Even if I graduate Magna Cum Laude.
Even if I believe in one God.
Even if I gravitate away from Debate.
Even if I hide from the chatter.
Even if I'm quiet as they yell, "Black Lives Matter".
I'll still be a nigger to the white folks
and acting "white" to the black folks.
There is no win for me here, so I wait on the wind of change
and pray I don't get short changed, this time.
Even if I am hopeful, my people are still hopeless...
August 31, 2016
Of Africa
I want to go to Africa.
To feel the rhythm of my ancestors,
feel the drum beat connect to my heart.
I want to return to Africa and see where I was given my start.
To feel the rhythm of my ancestors,
feel the drum beat connect to my heart.
I want to return to Africa and see where I was given my start.
If I Die...
If I die in police custody, tell my mama I love her.
Tell my sister's not to cry and my brother's to be brave.
If I die in police custody, know that I did not beg for my life.
They did not give it to me, so it's not theirs to take.
If I die in police custody, know that I gave my life willingly.
Know that, in that moment, I was set free.
Know that I died believing in we.
Us.
Tell my sister's not to cry and my brother's to be brave.
If I die in police custody, know that I did not beg for my life.
They did not give it to me, so it's not theirs to take.
If I die in police custody, know that I gave my life willingly.
Know that, in that moment, I was set free.
Know that I died believing in we.
Us.
Objects in the Mirror
Don't. Look. Back!
I try to remind myself if this overtime I see someone I use to know. Someone I once called "friend". Every time I get the "you were on my mind..." text or the "I've been meaning to..." message on FB. It's really tiring trying to move forward and carry what was behind me at the same time. I realize, now, that people like to keep atlas one toe in the doorway of your life so they can tiptoe in and out, unnoticed, when it's convenient.
I am learning that the farther I walk, the smaller things look in my rearview. People become distant. Grow apart. Grow up. Grow out. Whatever you want to say. We say things are just different, but what? When did it become different? We like to say that it is nothing, but it's everything because we always have that nagging wonder of "What happened?" in the back of our minds. You always wonder. I wonder.
In a nutshell, Ive come to the conclusion that it's one person in the act of walking, moving, and the other is standing still. Perspective. Change is always closer than it appears and we just have to be ready for it. Maybe I just missed the signs. Wasn't paying attention to the exits all along friendship highway. I thought we were going one way, but it turns out that they had already chosen their exit, but they wait until you stop at a gas station for snacks because they can't go on their way without the nourishment you provide. They have to have something to remember you by right? Unfortunately, you don't have a say in what they take. You just happen to look up one day and it's gone/
A little bit of your love, kindness, compassion, understanding, and patience is gone. Possibly forever. One can never truly know if it'll return. The day always comes that you see them on that same highway. Thumb out. Wanting a ride. Again. What do you do? Speed by and look at them through the rearview? Peel all the way out? Fishtail a little so you can hit them with a little gravel? I don't have the answer to that right now, but I'm riding on cruise control until I find it.
I try to remind myself if this overtime I see someone I use to know. Someone I once called "friend". Every time I get the "you were on my mind..." text or the "I've been meaning to..." message on FB. It's really tiring trying to move forward and carry what was behind me at the same time. I realize, now, that people like to keep atlas one toe in the doorway of your life so they can tiptoe in and out, unnoticed, when it's convenient.
I am learning that the farther I walk, the smaller things look in my rearview. People become distant. Grow apart. Grow up. Grow out. Whatever you want to say. We say things are just different, but what? When did it become different? We like to say that it is nothing, but it's everything because we always have that nagging wonder of "What happened?" in the back of our minds. You always wonder. I wonder.
In a nutshell, Ive come to the conclusion that it's one person in the act of walking, moving, and the other is standing still. Perspective. Change is always closer than it appears and we just have to be ready for it. Maybe I just missed the signs. Wasn't paying attention to the exits all along friendship highway. I thought we were going one way, but it turns out that they had already chosen their exit, but they wait until you stop at a gas station for snacks because they can't go on their way without the nourishment you provide. They have to have something to remember you by right? Unfortunately, you don't have a say in what they take. You just happen to look up one day and it's gone/
A little bit of your love, kindness, compassion, understanding, and patience is gone. Possibly forever. One can never truly know if it'll return. The day always comes that you see them on that same highway. Thumb out. Wanting a ride. Again. What do you do? Speed by and look at them through the rearview? Peel all the way out? Fishtail a little so you can hit them with a little gravel? I don't have the answer to that right now, but I'm riding on cruise control until I find it.
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