A Poem

To be a black man means I got a platform to speak
about the inequities of society as cast upon me or those like me in color or status.
It means a chance to speak out on unemployment or crime, whether it's the sister or brother next door,
mistreated by the mean patrolmen who don't care about me,
black or white.
This opportunity challenges me, a boy from the rural,  restricted South,
told to say yes, sir, or no sir to many who don't deserve it of any race but are required by the elderly to see God.
I love sticking up for young black men as no one else will.
They have been deemed criminals,  a misfit of a prosperous society whom the world molests in one way or another.
I think it's wise to voice an opinion or make my side of the story known, even if I get laughed at or told to shut up or sit down.
I'm a man,
always a man first.
I'll die if necessary, like Jimmy Lee Jackson, for a cause.
Love me or hate me, I'll do right by you.