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What if I told you we were here before
Inhabitants of a land Sacred to our core From the Black Hills to Badlands Defacing can’t restore Rape, pillage, constant exploit Your Game is Over What if I told you we were here before Solidifying our existence by the Reddy Roar Impregnated by dominance Your Oppression I bore No longer submissive We won’t take no more Your Game is Over Bearing the weight of a table that was not meant for me Setting four places But all I get is a peek Every now and again you get the decency to speak Asking how oppression is going but never once stop to see That you only enjoy your luxuries here because of me Your Game is Over “George, take a second rest, slumber and have tea” I take you up on your offer Place my eyes upon your coffers And remind you once again That my name is Malik I hail from a home that you were too blind to see Land of the brave and home of the free Committing heists at high seas and you Could only see Uranium, Gold, Copper, and Me Your Game is Over What if I told you we were here before? Sitting at the table while you ignore My ordained task from above Oh, Another glass? I’ll pour My job as your slave Are my chores Your Game is Over You got it wrong See, you misunderstood My creation from your side meant that I should Stand right next to you as equals would But the role you asked me to fill I was glad to oblige Your helpmate and wife Your direction I would abide But that Game is Over Oh, that extra space I created was meant for me But you gave it away and called it network opportunities When I reminded you You had the audacity to call it affirmative action…hmph Your Game is Over Mansplain my pain away Chalk it up to some biological inferiority But in reality You created the rules of my exclusion because you could not compete With my intellect and grace And assumed it had to be A condition of my nature Without being able to see That my femininity is what makes it great But because you can't comprehend my complexities you relegate Me to the kitchen But you fail to see I'm stirring up a plan I'm mixing up my plot I take my time and bake it right because you must be stopped Your tyrannical existence must be brought to the fore We will stand for second class, no, not no more Your Game is Over What if I told you we were here before Beta testing for years Constantly ignored Propelled your favorite pastime to its current lore Spending my mamas last Because it only took a coin Your Game is Over What if I told you we were here before The pain of the abuse you long ignored Because you sent your henchman down to control So now we take to these streets To remind the world Your Game is Over We say the system is flawed We know…it’s your design The results of this system continues to yield you blind It was always meant to control us Our Bodies maybe…but never min’ Your Game is Over You keep us tied to these trees Blame us for our existence And continue to overlook That lie you sold us and put it in a book One that would send us to hell if we dared look In between the pages that stuck Together to hide the lies of the dreams you took And tossed overboard while reading the middle passage Your Game is Over Put down the Controller No more leveling up The end is near There are no blocks that you can one up Prepare for the boss Your hand has been revealed You been renigging forever It’s time for a Redeal Game Over
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The ebbs and flows of that Black Girl Magic
Don’t let them frame the narrative It may be sad but never tragic Our essence is a constant source Merely resituating existences Something like that soul force We don’t need physical aids for you to feel this power The fertilization process… The beauty of that flower That Black Girl Magic Yeah it ebbs and flows The recurring, rhythmic pattern Of the Blackness it glows The power in the beauty On our faces it shows Hidden in our vault Trapped in our gait Dissected, lynched, and maimed Many have tried to replicate No bullet can penetrate This Blackness No one can take The last breath Of that beautiful dream The one that keeps us saying long live the King Land of the free because of our brave Reflecting on that ultimate sacrifice that our ancestors gave Maya said it the best I am the hope and the dream of the slave The Black Girl Magic? Yeah, the recipe is intact Give em a little taste Sprinkle some of this..Some of that… So where did it come from So many narratives they omit The secrets been locked away But at creation we were equipped We’re the yin to our own yang You need a decipher to get The things you can’t discern The likeness you can’t perceive The misinterpretations Is a reason that we constantly have to grieve Say Her Name The list keeps growing Its like an awful dream But their spirits are with us Long live these queens Tanisha, Miriam, Sarah Lee, Aiyana Bettie, Yvette, Sharon, Darnesha Alberta, Shantel, Jessie, Rekia Sandra, Meagan, and now sweet Gynnya A message to academia....
By Kishonna L Gray, PhD Dear white professor I am one of your students I want to talk about Ferguson Do you have a few moments? This entire semester We’ve been waiting and hoping Waiting for the moment For the discussion to open To talk about the reality That black people exist But by your avoidance IT’s a topic you resist This issue is more Than just black and white From what you’ve taught me It’s a lot of people’s plights But here in this moment It is they who suffer but because of your privilege You dare not utter The words. The reality The suffering. The pain Of bullets being riddled Black bodies being slain Regardless of your position No matter your stance We must take the time Open your eyes and glance Yes I’m privileged I don’t have to look But ignoring serves no purpose These live are being took By a system that’s flawed Blemished by design Rooted in the history Hanging from the pines These are things you taught us We learned them everyday History is repeating itself Sociology hit replay The movement is no different Criminology can’t you see You’re replicating a pattern That’s not woven for me Communications you’re not neutral Neither are you fair and balanced Your reporters are in the field Protesters they are silenced Cultural studies thank you For being at the front of the fight But it’s gonna take more, you see For us to take back the night Communities are gripped with fear Businesses thay can manage The protesters have a point to make When property is being damaged In our capitalist society Goods are worth more than life People are more up in arms Without Christmas tree lights I recognize my privilege. You taught me all about it. Do you live what you teach? Or is it time to recommit Remember why you’re here I’m starting to feel diminished You have a responsibility to teach me Your job maybe you should relinquish They said hands up. I said don’t shoot. You took that as a threat We’re not dangerous to you. It was an act of resistance Of solidarity, unity, and peace. For all my brothers and sisters White allies please increase SHE GRADUATED
BY KISHONNA L GRAY Mama I made it Yeah I graduated This feeling that I feel has got me so elated The degree is conferred The biggest lesson I learned? Wasn’t in the classroom So no grade could I earn The point and objective is that the Dream is deferred Progress deterred Because when we fight and we’re not heard We have to yearn For a system that is better Wrote the note a long time ago There is no loan that can repay this debtor I don’t have no major What you think I was trying to fake it Nah ma, I wasn’t even supposed to make it Let the stats show that me in this body Are more likely to raped or Harassed b/c I’m naughty Let them tell it You sent me here to avoid that shit in the street Thought I would meet Some sweet co-ed and bring him home to greet Mama you see the report? Yeah the retweet The court of Public opinion is the jury I have to beat Constantly questioned. Constantly denied. Not being believed because of some man’s lies But mama I learned more I probably should have never told What happened to me next Would burn your soul You know what else I learned that because of my gender I’m not valued as a true member Of this patriarchal society That would rather have me be Forced on my back than to give me any kind of equality Put me on my back that’s what he did But because I didn’t fight back… They couldn’t get rid Of that reasonable doubt that maybe she did Enough to lead him on I did say no but that wasn’t enough There should have been some bruises or marks Something more to show Because it was my fault Yeah I went to that party Yeah I had that drink And the rules of society would have you think In his eyes that shot was my consent I should not have spent Any more moments with him I would have never dreamt The experiences of one but let the real numbers show In reality let the truth be told Progress will come but with a hefty toll The price on my body my mind and my soul Having to endure the trauma Of a system that cares less for our daughters sistas and mamas But I guess I shouldn’t be mad No matter how long we’ve waited Yeah I guess I’m proud. Look mama I graduated Marked bodies Marked since birth Marked with beauty Marked with a curse Marked cuz we’re black Marked cuz we’re poor Marked cuz our society Always wants more America the beautiful America the marred America the dream America the scarred They live to want it We die to flaunt it Worship it so much They put God’s face on it Dying for them Nikes Dying for that check Dying cuz we’re fattening The White man’s check Keeping us in check Keeping us in control Sell the illusion of the vote The Ballot and the poll Money dropping like rain Falling on our scars Lashes from the profits Pain in these bars Poverty defines us Wealth reminds us That our worth is only rooted In the bling that surrounds us So when it rains and it pours Remember that thirst Cuz their sole intent Is to send my brothers to the hearse They are marking us for something Marking us for nothing Selling false dreams But my brothers they are Kings My sisters they are queens Created with Love Designed for peace Sent from above |
Authorfrom the poetic mind of Olivia Keene...(my mama gave me that pen name) Archives
March 2017
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