teacher asks me to read
what I wrote
on this here note
she saw my history book closed
and ink from my pen
dripp'n
as she taught
I thought: No mo'
jim crow
no mo' lynching
no mo' Martin Luther King shot
enough slaves, slaves, slaves!
why no whisper
of Malcolm
or Huey?
guess it's 'cause
she can't digest the thought
of me making waves
rather see me
marching
on graves
rather see me
stomping in circles
'til I get dizzy and sit
rather hear me
quoting scriptures that preach
to turn the cheek when I get hit
rather witness my mind
weakened by time
'til my WILL submits ( to her lessons)
she
who is
secretly
scared
of this black boy
and his pen
scared
of me
not listening
frightened stiff
that i won't memorize
the contorted truth
to have it take over my mind
to inherently blind
my future youth
so I wrote:
MLK sleeps on a cloud
but King is not dead
and there are a thousand
Malcolms
seized by the feds
and white men
built asylums
to silence their heads
and planted grenades
in their lovers' wombs
to make their seeds go KABOOM!
millions may be missing
a few senses
from the blast
but they'll be
resurrected
at last
then sons and daughters of kings
who've been brainwashed to cuss
and hold fuss to trivial things
taught to speak jive
than preach
and think coon and leech
taught to be dead beats
and leave their offsprings
in the streets
will know who they are
and no longer sell death
to their people in needles and sacks
or bow to brands
and perform
minstrel acts
and they will die, die, die in shame
before naming themselves Nigga
to desensitize their pain
for they will know
they are Kings
with no better title to claim
this I told to teacher
and she laughed
folding my note into paragraphs
she said: pity all you've written is in vain
then slides my note in a book
and dares a nigger to look
YOU ARE READING
Poems from Diisin's upcoming poetry book entitled, "Oxshegen".
PoetryInspired by an every day American story. All graphics and poems were created and copyrighted by DIISIN.