tilt and rock
tilt and rock
tilt and rock
black men
walk like
they’ve
somewhere
to go
head cocked
to one edge
sharp as a
hatchet blade
cutting swath
broad and wide
hewing
smoothness
from the
fibrous pulp
and rough
wooden
fiction
of life
black men
walk like
lumberjacks
chop and carry
chop and carry
chop and carry
hauling half
the load upon
their shoulders
hopeful that
the mule don’t
give out
for then
they might
have to walk
the whole way
home alone
since
big papa
robert said
if you rise
to hoe
the grove
at five
by noon
your day
is halfway
done
black men
walk like
early birds
swoop and fly
swoop and fly
swoop and fly
if they come
in the morning
mama angela
said
black men
had best
be ready
for oppression
may retreat
but still not
surrender
and no knock
was never
rescinded
but it did
rename
and replicate
itself
and democracy
is such
a great equalizer
that any
convicted person
can now know
what it means
to be a nigger
black men
walk like
they are
prey
double time step
double time step
double time step
lions
and gazelles
on the
savannah plains
sirens sound
like a lion’s roar
ain’t no innocents
here just
food chains
and a system
so hungry
to consume
social detritus
the carcass
of human castaways
that they
criminalize
poverty
criminalize
bad education
criminalize
fatherlessness
criminalize
color
criminalize
class
criminalize
insubordination
and advocate
that should you
wish to move
up that chain
you had best
learn to be
a predator
too
black men
walk like
robots
with bad
programming
wrist elbow knee foot
wrist elbow knee foot
knee wrist foot elbow
can’t walk
straight
can’t think
right
can’t see up
for being down
can’t measure
the radius
of the circle
and so
can’t see
their way
around their
problems
can’t predict
the future
cause they
can’t remember
their past
can’t calm
their fire
cause water
is privatized
can’t stop
saying “can’t”
can’t
struggle
won’t
progress
can’t find
the door
to this cage
built around
them
can’t
breathe
black men
walk like
a breath
of fresh
air
we cool
we real cool
cool enough
to read
a book
that ain’t
carrying the
torch left
burning
by The Source
intellect cool
cool enough
to take
our wife
on a date
and woo her
like she
was going
to get away
if we didn’t
put the
jeffery osborne
on her mind
something heavy
romanticool
cool enough
to jump
into a
hurkey
fall down
for a split
and somersault
tumble
if it means
our daughter
is fully
aware
that we
foster
her total
growth
and
development
father cool
yeah nig…
no
we too cool
to call
ourselves
anything
lesser
in quality
or condition
too cool
to say
“nigger”
unless we
are
deconstructing
the construct
of racial
politics
and
planning
an exit
strategy
black men
cool
black men
walking
cool
black men
walking
in a multitude
of ways
cool
if only
black men
could walk
together
if only
black men
would talk
together
when black men
love being
together
on purpose
for a purpose
yeah
that’s real
cool.
