Off Topic Truth Poem by Roneece Pieters

I just woke up from the craziest dream and it got me thinking…why don’t dreams come true? I’m not talking about white picket fences. I mean bringing the African American race higher than the moon. Instead I face my worst nightmare where I’m followed inside a store and the lady smiles claiming she wants to help. But I know better than that. I know all of what I can’t have. Sometimes I know it better than myself. You see, I know of freedom. I know of liberty and justice and in god we trust. I know why the caged bird sings. Sometimes we do duets down at the corner where Brenda had her baby. We harmonize, we let freedom ring. We lift every voice and sing. Those our moments I steal from a stranger known to some as happiness. I’m his biggest fan and I really admire his smash hit. It was titled “sweet bliss”. Enough of that. I told you I know about all of what I can’t have too well. It used to be mine but I got jumped. And it made my entire being swell. So now when peeps ask “how’s the baby” I go “oh real swell”. But in this world I have one friend. His name is time, he’s there for me time and time again. Hey honey! If you hearing this I just want to say I love you. You make sure I take things slow. I’m not liked as a black woman because it would bruise the white man’s ego. You sometimes tell me to hurry up because if I don’t get out of this place right now, I might tear this place up. When I’m ready to quit, you keep going. You see my potential and let it show and when I’m hurt, you try to erase the pain although it never really goes away and eventually you’ll let my tears wash away in the rain. And I know that you’ll allow my people to overcome. You proved yourself because physical slavery is done and it was because of you. You were the one. So I say thank you and if you never heard a word I said before, please listen as I make my point clearly…emancipate yourself from mental slavery.