I paused before a puddle
Gazing into its shallow murk
Seeing my reflection therein
And I wondered…

Am I here on the outside
Seeing myself as I truly am…

Or am I the reflection of who I think I am
Seeing myself clearly for the first time?

Am I looking into the murk…

Or am I looking up out of it?

So cold, this wind of uncertainty
But my rippling reflection shivers more than I

i think the sound of thunder and the sound of a heartbeat are the same
i think the roar of water after you jump in is it screaming to pull you under
i think rain on a tin roof is everyones rough nights in short, drowning, sharp sounds
i think lightening looks a lot like bloodshot shot eyes and sounds like glass hitting the wall
i think people are storms and in a way that it does not matter how different or worse they are from one another because "normal" people would rather see the sun anyways
but i will always like the sound of thunder

On this ocean I float
And I melodize my song
Sing along if you join my tide
When we croon
Together morning ‘till noon
We sleep better at night

Hearts stay in tune
Over distances in spite
Of waves rippling through our lives
Some great, able to separate
But third eye ablaze
You're always in sight

I too have feared the undertows
But even if you’re caught below
Don’t inhale the salt
And to the surface you’ll float

When I’m alone
I whistle with the winds
The melody that healed my wounds
And if the waters splash
I don’t kick and thrash
The brine can’t burn my flesh

An anthem sublime
Rains from the sky
Returned to the ocean by the clouds
Every drop resonates
The horizon vibrates
From the pounding of our tribe

Turn your head around
Don’t stare at the depths below
Your breath you’ll find comes from
The direction of the Sun

Even if the world tried to force me to use only black and grey crayons
I would still manage to create a colorful picture
For I am a poet and my imagination cannot be tamed
and my vision is never bleak
my letters may be black but the color in my words
will never be weak

My hearts on display
I write out what im feeling
tell you what im thinking
but its to long for you to read
you wont scroll down over 2 times
and you think thats right
I want to tell the world
but the world is to lazy to read
the cure for cancer could be in the last two lines
but you would never see
not unless it starts trending
despite what you think
im not angry
Im disapointed
this is a community
are we really to lazy to care?
dont just heart the poem
read whats there
I think its only fair
that i get the guts to tell you my story
that you would take the time to read
and maybe spend 2 seconds to tell me what you think
but thats ok
maybe im just crazy
you probably didnt get to read this line anyway

you ask me what it's like to be black
and i'll tell you it's a warm soulful fulfilling feeling
like a pair of new Chucks on the hot pavement jumping scotch on a busy summer day
eating cool iced pops and not ever being afraid
and smelling the warm carmel cake cooling on the stove
and the togetherness on a Sunday evening in grandmama's home

but you ask me what it's like to be black
in america
and i'll fall silent of conversation
because as you see history repeats itself
i don't understand why there is still need for explanation
in deep adversaries and hateful unappreciation
here we stand to be questioned by an authoritative negation

and ignorant folk,
why do you ask me such things?
why are you people mad?
why is it about race?

and i'll ask you, why does the caged bird sing?
is he not entitled to his song or his wings?

as green as the earth and as blue as the sky
i will only explain to an ear willing to listen
to a being with a sound heart and a firm mind
because as God as my witness we were created as equal

and for that given right we must die?

i will sit back and in turn ask you why;
i bet you couldn't say
and maybe we will all learn the answer some day
so join me in prayer will you?
join me as i pray:

to the children of Chicago
who can't go out to play
to the sons and fathers of
Missouri and Florida and New York
who will never again see the light of day
to the mother's pain that may fade
but won't ever go away
to the hateful people and their hateful words and their hateful ways
God won't You heal their pain?

they're so ******* us, Lord
now we're ******* ourselves
and on our knees we have fallen
needing guidance and help
because it isn't about being privilged
or living for the light we're consumed in

being black in america is no longer about being accepted as black

it's about being accepted as human.

Lets
make a deal.
I won't try to convince
you into believing what I
do, if you stop trying to talk
me out of believing in what you
don't