You Say

You say I am loud while you rob me of my voice

You say I’m free while you take away my choice

You say I lazy while you try to break me with manual labour

You say I am free to succeed while you tell me you don’t want me as your neighbour

You say I am angry while you shower me with your hatred

You say I am immoral while you are envious of my nature

You say I am poor while you raid my resources

You say I am ugly while you appropriate my features

You say I am violent while you kneel across my neck

You say I should be grateful while you minimise my cheque

You say I am lacking intelligence while you limit my education

You say I am unemployable while you restrict my occupation

You say I am deceptive while you force me to survive by my wit

You say I am crazy while you goad me to declare me mentally unfit

You say I am disassociated while you divide and conquer with toxic lies

You say it’s my fault while you ignore my baby’s hunger cries

You say I have equal chances while you tell me I can’t be equal

You say I am to wait, while you live in foreboding of my sequel

You say I am inferior while you continue to suppress my status

You say I am dishonest while you hold an opinion that is fallacious

You say I do not suffer inequality while you engineer the lattice of racism

You say I act like a victim while you enjoy your acts of sadism

You say I have a chip on my shoulder while you try to groom me to accept your conditions

You say I have no value while you take credit for my inventions

You say I should focus on the present while you try to erase my past

You say I have the same protection under the law while you benefit favourably in contrast

You say I am inadequate while you try to control my power

You say I have a bad attitude while you greet me everyday with a glower

You say I am unsophisticated while you manipulate and delete my history

You say I lack talent while you try to measure and replicate my natural ability

You say I have opportunities while you erect barriers to my progress

You say I am free while you delineate my access

You say I am a liar while you try to discredit my life story

You say I can’t really amount to much while you actively diminish my glory

You say I have no family values while you ripped apart our families as slaves

You say I deserve to be six feet under while you make me dig the grave

For all the energy and effort it takes to perfect this guise

Still like dust I rise

Valerie Daniel