SATURDAY THOUGHTS: POETRY PROMPT---WE ARE NOT A MONOLITH

WE ARE NOT A MONOLITH 

We are not a monolith
Our hues make some assume
We march lockstep to every beat
We all sing the same tune
We are not a monolith
When will they ever learn?

Cooning, conning, Uncle Tomming 

Lurk at every turn!

House, and field; blue collar, white

Southern, northern, too

Still, they think we’re not distinct

That I am merely you

“The Blacks” we’re called
As if we all
Reside on the same street
On the corner where PTSD
And reparations meet

Round another corner, and

You’ll find some are elite

“Stop and frisk” brought them great joy

No hoodlums on their street

Some have faith in God 
That others see as mental illness
No white Jesus in their homes
They preach “keeping it realness”
Each argument begins and ends—
“The problem is “The Man”
No revolution’s happened yet
Some doubt one ever can 

“See? THAT’S why we can’t have nice things!”

Complain the neutral ones

Who hate their hue; argue with you

“We’ll never overcome!”

And so, they strip themselves—their lives 

Of anything that can

Identify, or signify the African in them

Some amplify and glorify every racist trope

Participate in keeping fed

The monsters bigots boast

Are perfect, true-to-life ideas

Of who Black people are

Fiercely defend, help make and send

Images that scar

And disrespect, misrepresent

And tell humanity

It should always expect the worst

From those who look like me

Some reach new heights, flee from the fights

Want to go back, but don’t

Once free, they see what life can be

Could free others, but won’t

Blend in, fit in, never look back

Except to join the song

That always blames, and heaps great shame

On those who did no wrong

There used to be a time that some

Would not make any step

Unless their best foot led the way

No longer have they kept

The tenets and the practices

Of love, or pride, or care

Turning on one another

Is practiced everywhere

There is no “we” that I can see

But all goes in the box 

That says there’s no distinction 

The chicken and the fox

The lion and the lamb

The elephant and mouse

The owl and the ass 

Are all the same in every house

We are not a monolith

We know, but here they come

With pandering; apologies

Promising everyone

They know our needs;
Why our hearts bleed

They’ll be the ones to save

Us all from one another—

The naive and the brave

The bitter and the hopeful

The ignorant; the wise

And paint us all with one big brush

To satisfy their eyes

To justify their plans

To guarantee a win

And once enthroned, 

The monolith, the kith, and all the kin

Go back into the box 

To wait four years, or more

Until they come back, hat in hand

Seeking votes like before.

VRWc2024