It’s just a word / But what if it’s a word born of hate? / What if it’s a word filled with contempt? / What if it’s a word that denigrates? / What if it’s a slur or crude? /…
No one ever worried / That learning the horrors of our history / Might make us sad and uncomfortable / From the auctions to the lynchings / No one ever cared about that
We’ve have watched you / Come after us and our rights / Time and time again / Every single generation / Every time we start to shine / Every single time!
Even when you anticipate it / the sting pulses through you / whether it’s a love interest / who picked someone else / or the local poetry festival / that rejected your work / as unsurprising as it is. /…