It was the circumstance of my birth
just my being here on planet earth
to be born in the '60s
to be born in a segregated USA
None of that affected me as I grew
under an illusion
that I was America too
but, the more I read and began to understand
I was born into this separated land
I used to listen to my mama
recount stories of how things used to be
those stories I thought were from long ago
are not so far away from me
I never thought about it, fighting to be free
it was something I assumed I already had
but that was naive
The things that we tell ourselves the stories that we weave
complacency or wishful thinking
How can I look at my American life the same way?
Things are not much different fifty years down the road
and I am not sure what the future holds
How can I unknow what I now know about being born in
a segregated USA
If not for those who laid life and limb on the line
those stories from my mama would too be mine
I don't know who I am now, knowing what could have been