This is you,
Born and raised to be torn between
The fairy tale life you read as a child
And the daytime soap opera drama
That created your belief system
Concerning the definition of masculinity
And its role in love and life,
The strife you experience consisting of
The lies you tell yourself
About yourself and how any man sees you,
Including whether or not he sees you
As worth his time
Based on how fine you look
And how soon you sleep with him,
While balancing the task
Of answering questions that are self-asked,
Such as, what does he do?
How much does it earn him?
How much of it is he willing to give
For what you are willing to give?
Is there a better offer from some other man?
And will what you do
Be acceptable or enviable to
Whomever you tell your business to?
This is you,
A still-deceived-Eve
Believing talk-show doctrines
That declare every black man
To be the lowest of life forms,
Spouting and Shouting
From all rooftops of relationship conversation,
Black men are to blame for your every woe
As the chief reason to abandon
Every sense of personal responsibility
For your own situations;
Perusing through publications
That offer exaggerated legitimization,
Leaving you deeply instilled with the fear
That admitting the guilt of your own actions
Is sympathizing with the enemy
While declaring proudly
That his only hope of salvation in your eyes
Is to conform to your selfish standards,
Using shameless lusts
As your most trusted weapon!
This is you,
Progressive perfection
Prescribed by pamphlets, books, and movies
Demonizing the heavily attacked black man
For not being able to overcome obvious ostracizing
In the same corporate climates
In which your submissive self claims acceptance,
Believing published propaganda
Depicting all of your brothers as uncivilized and savage,
Ignoring the obvious fact of their command
To bring him into preferred modes
Of European ideology-based conformity
By people that are hell-bent
On totally dominating his spirit, as well as yours;
Obeying obliviously every demonic suggestion
To bring application of every hypocritical standard
Into your unified existence,
Regardless of the risk of division
For your not seeking the truth
That lies within yourselves.
This is you,
Constantly complaining of abandonment
While running at the first sign
Of ones incapability to fulfill your lofty expectations,
Stating to your fellow lonely hearts club members
That the one you dropped like a bad habit
Simply wasnt man enough for you,
But never admitting to any of them
That you werent woman enough
To stick around through good times and bad times
With good men who tried to love you
With every ounce of sincerity within their spirits,
And yet, upset beyond insanity
When you see him dating one who was woman enough,
Especially if she is not in your race!
This is you,
The one not examining
Your own self, life, mind, heart, and spirit,
Never stopping to think
That your men are hurting
Seeing the world declare that no good is within them
And seeing you alongside the same beast
Spewing this falsehood through his many vices,
The same that drove you and him from Eden,
Offering him your hearty Amens,
Paying all never-minds to the fact
That he stole our place of godly leadership
In our families and relationships
In your daily speech, acts, and beliefs.
This is you,
The one never pondering the truth:
If this is you,
What man in his right mind and spirit
Would ever truly want to
Be with, be around, live with, or love
you?
(A Good Man In Hiding, Vol. 4 piece.)


