The Black Man.

Feb 17, 2013

Brittney Bullock is a Boston University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Primary interests include politics, prose and poetry. http://politicalpoppies.wordpress.com

How dare he try to be more than he was.
More than a Jim Crow Law, a gutter word walking in the street,
more than a color or an ignorant language,
more than a sex drive, a temptation for white women and their daughters,
more than home remedies for squeaky door hinges, heat rash, dry skin,
more than a back entrance to the cinema, a rusty pipe filtering a water fountain,
more than jazz hands and a good ear for audible art, perfect pitch for song,
more than shuckin’ and jivin’ and entertainin’ them white folk,
more than a strong back, a fertile womb,
more than garbage collected in Africa, to be recycled in America,
more than an underground railroad, pitching the hopeless feat- Operation Freedom,
more than scratches dug into backs like wells from a stick marking the sand,
more than gizzards and pigs feet in the pot, boiling for a midnight snack,
more than cotton-picking, warm tobacco leaves out drying in the sun,
more than a bass voice thundering through the country,
more than a foul ship’s quarters, tossing babies out to sea to rest in peace,
more than a face to hate and brand and hang from trees,
more than one acre and a mule and a hopeless prayer,
more than just another boy, even as he pushes 85 years and counting-
if you thought that’s all he was.

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