From What I've Seen

Is he suspicious...or just living?

When their skin is that dark––

I guess it’s hard to tell the difference

What does it mean to be Black?

The answer, I sometimes lack

Not because I am lost, or in need of direction

But; because I am lost, and in need of direction

I mean––I can tell you what it means to be “Black”

To be Intimidating, Dangerous, Different

To be the leading statistic in every negative study

To be the token “Black friend”

To be suppressed; most importantly, used

What does it mean to be Black?

“Praised”, “Worshiped”, and “Loved”

So long as money is involved

So long as the masses are manipulated

A caged bird shall never fly, therefore their love’s a lie

Like the sweet juice of the pomegranate

Our labor is drained, stolen

As for the fruit and of its seeds

We’re tossed aside, lost and ignored

What does it mean to be Black?

To survive against a sturdy Oppressor

Armed with Liberty, Justice and the Law

And an onslaught of followers; blind of their bind

Who permit just enough “change”, to hold the revolution at bay

To see our fate, in the hands of others, who could never understand

By “leaders” and “representatives” whose skin, is not like mine

Who whisper what we so desperately want to hear

Whose true intentions are never clear, until it’s too late