Dear Black Boy

Dear Black boy, 

I've seen fear accompany your eyes

I've seen it take up the empty seats next to you,

and I've seen you two walking side by side

down dark avenues that always lead to nowhere

I've witnessed it manipulating your thoughts

making you work like a backward clock to its ticking songs

and I know that you've befriended it

because you've never tried to fight it away,

but only come to terms with the depression it brought along the way

Dear Black boy,

You've found comfort in sleeping in the storm

Where everyone sees you as just a Black boy,

just a statistic, the stereotypical no emotions no feelings Black boy

Dry your eyes, don't cry, no tears 

The dry hard drought, the El Niño,

sucking life out of life,

you are to be feared

Again fear happens to linger around you

like cops in Black neighborhoods where fear

can be the reason for them to kill a son, a brother, a friend

Where fear is the reason 

Dear Black Boy,

the oppressor is not as effective when you see that even he

is diseased with the same disease that seeps through your being

and you struggle with self-identity

because everyone sums you up as the portrayal from tv,

the dead-beat ex-boyfriend,

a convict, felon, drug dealer on the streets,

they don't give you any room to be

We don't give you any room to be,

So I can't blame you for being afraid,

and clutching on to fear like a friend from first grade

Dear Black boy, 

The world for you is a dark maze that appears to be only one way out

because fear strips you of self-consciousness

and you are left to find self-awareness on your own

Mama loves you but she ain't go be around for too long

Brother and sister love you 

But they tired of you calling their phone

Your girl loves you,

but she can't love you

like you can love yourself,

and your trynna love,

but you never loved

and your stuck

Dear Black boy,

When a woman is ready to love you don't be afraid

Don't let fear strip your blessings away!

It's done enough in the time being,

It's spoken enough--too much!

Accompanied you to too many job interviews, relationships, and public places 

Black boy,

every day God has given you a reason to not be afraid

and patiently he's been waiting, waiting for you to realize the same 

To know that vulnerability is actually the greatest strength

That to cry is apart of the healing process

To be greater than yesterday

Dear Black boy,

for every one of your tomorrows,

you have an empty canvas,

And every color in the world,

Paint.