BLACK BOY
“I never knew being black came with a setlist of directions.”
Born as a black boy.
Born to keep quiet and follow the norm.
Born to not cry, born to not feel, born to have heaven when I die.
While others have theirs while they’re alive.
I’ve been here for 15 years, and already I realized I was just another black male born to repeat the cycle.
The cycle of poverty and jail.
The cycle of always being labeled as serious and tough
While everything around me was rough.
As a black male I’m not allowed to feel.
If I cry I’m a sissy, if I show too much emotion I’m a female
rather than a male.
I was born into an age where I have to act right in order to keep my family.
When I thought family was to love you unconditionally.
Been here for 15 years not to be loved by family or society. It’s crazy.
If I try to show love to others I’m asked why am I not more this way.
Why don’t I act the way a black boy acts?
I never knew being black came with a setlist of directions.
I didn’t know there was a list of instructions to follow.
When truly I’m myself, being like anything else makes me feel hollow.
Why do I have to conform to the world where I never asked to be here?
I’ve been here for 15 years and all I’ve been told is that it gets worse.
I didn’t know being born as a black boy would be adverse to the world.
Maybe I should hide, act right, play the game that was made for me.
Maybe I should act that way until the day that I die.
Maybe that’s all that is meant for me.
Maybe that is my destiny of being a toy that is played.
Maybe that is just the reality of being a black boy.