Black Sheep

Skin dark as night and hard to see

Delicate words lost in allegory

Powerful defiance misjudged as anger

Danger, I have heard about you

You are not a passive one or the type that will coon

Why do you walk and talk like that?

Because in their mind, they have an interpretation of Black

To be seen and not heard

Caged like a yellow bird

What is that word?

Herd, gathered together and lead where the leader says go

Change the direction and switch the role

Complexity of being a Black Man

All shapes and colors like misplaced sand

Hand and hand, but our lives are not monolithic

We are all different and moral codes are intrinsic

If you are quiet, then you are passive

If you talk too loud, how harassive

Nice body, you are attractive

If you are an intellectual, they can grasp it

As long as you don’t mention what the past did

Everything you are now is because of what was then

A system designed to create the world we live in

Now you want people to break and bend

Mold themselves to a certain image

To belong to a space, place and time that we do not fit in

However, we press forward with our goals

Whether the truth is actually told

Creating our own self-image

Because it is our God-given privilege

Becoming better than we were yesterday

Reaching out a hand and encouraging others along the way

Care in our hearts for a future, we may never get to see

I pray their words don’t get lost in allegory

Because our blood, sweat and tears, will change those defining years

You will not have to fit a mold, for the world to see

Just be able to live and walk your path, authentically

By: Xavier Jonte’ Thompson