FREEDOM IS...

freedom is
When you see my black
You’re not staggered
or taken aback

freedom is
When the fair-skinned
and freckled
See my wisdom or cunning
or rare intellect
They’re not pulling out hair strands 
Running,
or becoming, a nervous wreck

freedom is
when you’re not hellbent
on keeping me at bay 
or preventing
what is due, to come my way

freedom is 
privileged people acknowledging
That Jesus also
could have also been black

freedom is
Soul food on, Walmart’s
grocery rack

freedom is 
Santa Claus, with a straggly beard
And a Kango on his nappy head

freedom is 
No more being shot
While being black

freedom is 
No more cop unions
watering down the facts
That I was reaching for my gun
or gat
Even though my hands
were cuffed behind my back

freedom is
the day you became colorblind
When you saw the real me
And not my color in your mind
nor your tainted philosophy