PoemsBrowse PoemsSlamsFresh DropEchoes
LearnWriting TipsPoetry TermsPoets & ArtistsBooksFor Teachers
ExplorePoetry GenomePoem MapEchoesTake ActionGroups
AboutWrite a PoemDonateSign UpLog In

Culture


CULTURE
By
Genesis Alexis
 
 
She walks into a crowd of people
And she is viewed as different,
As dirty, As disgusting.
Apparently her culture is to rich.
 
They tell her she must change to fit in
She must act a certain way
Look a certain way
Speak a certain way
Be a certain way
 
And she does as they say
She changes the way she looks
Perms her hair 
Make her clothes look prim and proper
She even makes her eyes look warm and inviting.
 
Then she changes the way she Speaks 
She no longer uses slag 
Nor curses because that's not what a lady do
She makes sure she uses proper grammar
Even when it feels improper to do so
 
Even when the people who made her change bite off pieces of her culture,
When the Take our hair after they said it was nappy, dirty, unprofessional,
When the take our music, our rhythm, our flow,
When the uses our slag after calling use ghetto for it. 
 
If you want her culture you have to take everything; 
Form the enslavement to the mass incarceration
From the hate we get to the anger we hold.
You can’t dissect our culture!
 
You must realize that her culture will alway be apart of her. 
The her will alway have the language at the tip of her tongue.
That she will alway have the curls of a Queen.
That she will always have fabric of her nation stitched with in her skin.  
That She is her Culture.
  
 
©All Rights Reserved

Something wrong with this poem?

Share

Replies are closed for this poem.

lauralexis147

View all poems →

Your Poem's Voice

See what makes your poem unique — its voice, energy, themes, and the literary traditions it draws from.

Comments (0)

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.

Log in to leave a comment.