Voice

He told us that he seen something

I saw it too and began to call it by its name

She said she was a phenomenal woman

And somehow I felt the same

We all learn to say and convey and shoot off at the yap

But few of us have voice

It is one thing to see the destruction

But it’s another thing to say somebody blew it up in such a tone that everyone turns and points and screams

It was you motherfucker, we see you

When a Calypso woman feels like she makes Diamonds where her thighs meet and don’t care about how you feel about it

You want to know what it’s like

What it’s like to feel that good, that strong, that beautifully human.

“Show yourself” he called to me, waving his finger

Busting me out in room full of white kids

“You ain’t no Black Baudelaire

You gonna die, you don’t get off this train”

She said the Lord gave you shoulders and you better not slump them

Yeah you may look tough, but it takes whole a lot more strength to smile

The strong must be beautiful, the beautiful strong

We will wake up both, and strut the day long

And life is a song, a jazz tune that needs singers

Ba dee daaaaaa, Ba doo doo doo da

And life is a journey that you better learn to enjoy because everyone will be telling you that you shouldn’t

And don’t ever let them steal your oom omm ba boom

That’s your drum, you play it

And most importantly speak

Speak to show your face so that others can see their reflection

So that they can agree, and argue, and challenge and be thankful that they can feel something too