Land of the free

Home of the brave 

Superpower.

This is what I hear

slide from the mouths

of teachers, parents, patriots.

But it is not what i feel

when i hear ignorance shouting,

"F**!"

into the ears of somebody

who was born a little different.

It is not what i feel

when on a college tour

I am handed a rape whistle

and told "the best thing is,

you can blow it and keep running".

It is not what I feel 

when i hear a gunshot,

and know that a bullet

is just another part of the

black man's anatomy. 

It is not what I feel

when it is 2015

and love is illegal.

When it is 2015

and I will only make

seventy seven cents

to a man's dollar.

When it is 2015 

and being black

is still a crime. 

Dear America, 

You're not free.

You're not brave.
You're just broken.