I AM A MAN, A BLACK MAN

I am Man, a Black man

“Stand in the corner,” You say

With your eyes shut,

Your mouth closed

Your ears plugged

Just stand in the corner

You are not a man

You are a prop

This is what you say to me

This is what you think of me

Is it fear of the Black man?

It is fear of the Black man

Nothing more

But I am a man

I am a Black man

I am the world you live in

You cannot deny me

You cannot kill me

Or Neuter me

You cannot deny my history

It is your history too

And history is history

Unchanged and unchanging

It’s about life itself

You did not begin today

And you will not tomorrow

You began yesterday

And you live today

What fool denies their history

Throw away their forefathers and their foremothers

As if they never existed

Is this you?

I will move as I please

From the light to the shadows

And back again

With eyes wide open

With mouth agape

My hearing restored

You will not deny me this

Because I am a man

I am a Black man

A philosopher

A scientist

A teacher

An adventurer

And so much more

You will deny me this?!