Snatch him up by the back of his neck
run him into his own fist,
twice
tell him who the real enemy is
show him
make him swallow his own teeth,
do not help when they scratch the inside of his throat,
tell him it was his fault,
make his eyes swell up so he looks like a freak,
make him go to work like that and come up with excuses why he looks so bad,
tell him it's the white man,
show no sympathy when he tries to hide from the whispers,
tell him you're sorry,
tell him you love him and then kick his ass again,
tell him it was his fault,
question him on why he's such a coward,
interrogate his ass,
make him beg forgiveness,
watch him crawl,
put the word out on the street,
THERE'S AN ENEMY IN OUR PRESENCE,
THERE'S AN ENEMY IN OUR PRESENCE,
it does not think it only attacks,
it makes weak-ass excuses,
it takes no responsibility,
it picks on things smaller than itself and reads Sharazad Ali,
it worships Miles Davis,
IT LIES, IT LIES, IT DESTROYS LIFE, IT LIES!!!
and if he finally understands,
then go to him,
find out where it started,
search for burn marks beneath his flesh,
peel back the pain,
be a brother,
whisper
Haki Madhubuti to him,
whisper Sonia Sanchez,
let him sleep in your arms,
stand alone if you have to,
this is the right thing to do,
stand alone,
let them talk,
while you break centuries of viscous cycles,
face the contradictions, the sliced open bellies,
the jaws wired shut,
the assholes split,
the breasts scarred from cigarette butts and bloodied vaginas,
this is what it looks like,
do not turn away now,
babies beat out of wombs,
spines curved,
uneven legs that no longer walk,
dead eyes that do not see tomorrow,
livers imprinted with size 12 shoes,
face the contradiction,
that looks like you,
that smells like you,
that feels like you,
and push out the violence,
be unafraid to be a man who confronts men,
about women,
be unafraid to be a man
who confronts men,
big mean-ass -- nasty men,
be unafraid -- to be a man
who confronts
himself.
From Poetry into the Twenty-First Century
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