Poetry
"B(l)ack & fo(u)rth: a palindrome"
By Latorial Faison
By Latorial Faison
Dead & gone like King
Like Malcolm, like Obama.
We be a black dream
We be a black dream
Like 40 acres & mules
Like the right to love
Like the right to love
We be craving honey, house
Sometimes without home
Sometimes without home
We be craving all the world
Like the right to vote
Like the right to vote
We dared to dream, learned to read
Like Phillis, the Bible
Like Phillis, the Bible
Bearing white people’s myths, gifts
On the wings of words
On the wings of words
Black men & Black women flew
From slavery to freedom
From slavery to freedom
Our enslaved people survived
The whip & the chains
The whip & the chains
O, how they tried to break us
For America
For America
The colonies our backs built
Betrayed & traded
Betrayed & traded
Like lambs led to a slaughter
We be fatted calves
We be fatted calves
Sacrificed at the return
Of wayward children
Of wayward children
America calls not things
As though they are here
As though they are here
America calls not things
Of wayward children
Of wayward children
Sacrificed at the return
We be fatted calves
We be fatted calves
Like lambs led to a slaughter
Betrayed & traded
Betrayed & traded
The colonies our backs built
For America
For America
O, how they tried to break us
The whip & the chains
The whip & the chains
Our enslaved people survived
From slave to freedom
From slave to freedom
Black men & Black women flew
On the wings of words
On the wings of words
Bearing white people’s myths, gifts
Like Phillis, the Bible
Like Phillis, the Bible
We dared to dream, learned to read
Like the right to vote
Like the right to vote
We be craving all the world
Sometimes without home
Sometimes without home
We be craving honey, house
Like the right to love
Like the right to love
Like 40 acres & mules
We be a black dream
We be a black dream
Like Malcolm, like Obama
Dead & gone like King.
Like Malcolm, like Obama.
We be a black dream
We be a black dream
Like 40 acres & mules
Like the right to love
Like the right to love
We be craving honey, house
Sometimes without home
Sometimes without home
We be craving all the world
Like the right to vote
Like the right to vote
We dared to dream, learned to read
Like Phillis, the Bible
Like Phillis, the Bible
Bearing white people’s myths, gifts
On the wings of words
On the wings of words
Black men & Black women flew
From slavery to freedom
From slavery to freedom
Our enslaved people survived
The whip & the chains
The whip & the chains
O, how they tried to break us
For America
For America
The colonies our backs built
Betrayed & traded
Betrayed & traded
Like lambs led to a slaughter
We be fatted calves
We be fatted calves
Sacrificed at the return
Of wayward children
Of wayward children
America calls not things
As though they are here
As though they are here
America calls not things
Of wayward children
Of wayward children
Sacrificed at the return
We be fatted calves
We be fatted calves
Like lambs led to a slaughter
Betrayed & traded
Betrayed & traded
The colonies our backs built
For America
For America
O, how they tried to break us
The whip & the chains
The whip & the chains
Our enslaved people survived
From slave to freedom
From slave to freedom
Black men & Black women flew
On the wings of words
On the wings of words
Bearing white people’s myths, gifts
Like Phillis, the Bible
Like Phillis, the Bible
We dared to dream, learned to read
Like the right to vote
Like the right to vote
We be craving all the world
Sometimes without home
Sometimes without home
We be craving honey, house
Like the right to love
Like the right to love
Like 40 acres & mules
We be a black dream
We be a black dream
Like Malcolm, like Obama
Dead & gone like King.
