Fear Poem by Oscar Small

Why do you fear me
I am taken from my home
Across the sea to a land I know not
Many of us die along the way
But you fear me why
Because my skin is dark
Yet you lie in the sun
So that it will darken you
Why do you fear me
From the time I was brought here
You taught me to fear you
Do you know why
Why do you fear me
I bleed just as you bleed
I love and want to be loved
Just as you love and want to be loved
Yet you teach me to fear you
Why you fear me
I have built this nation
With the sweat of my brow
I toiled in fields that were not mine
My children and I suffer cause
We are feared why
Why you fear me
You say I was free yet I'm not
With nothing I depended on you
Scraps from you table is what I eat
I sing and I am happy as I am
Yet you hate me more even more
You will not let me live in peace
Today you say you fear me
Why you fear me
Because I am black
Because I can withstand more
Because you can't kill me regardless
Don't fear me befriend me I ask
Yet I am still feared