I'll Never Be A Cool Black Guy Poem by Suburban Lovechild

I don't have bling
I don't rap, play blues or sing
I'll never be a cool black guy
My strut is weak
My cred roams far yonder
Miles away from the street
I'll never be a cool black guy
The booty I shake
The moves that I make
Won't qualify for Soul Train's sake
I'll never be a cool black guy
The name my mother assigned
Won't force Grandmaster Flash to resign
I'll never be a cool black guy
The vocal lords which gospel brings
Cannot pervade thy angel's wings
I'll never be a cool black guy
Cruising slow at sunset
Love, joy, exaltation
Politely asked to pull over
Algorithms bleed into
Indignant subjugation
I'll never be a cool black guy
When a simple arrest
Leads to civil unrest
Then comes the ripple, tsunami
Of economic infest
I'll never be a cool black guy
My options broken, then severed
Left to dangle without a net
The asphalt calls
No qualms or regret
I'll never be a cool black guy
And one leads to two
And two leads to ten
History's palindrome nightmare
To invoke and offend
Why can't our same bag of bones
Simply care, soar, befriend
I'll never be a cool black guy
That diploma on the wall
Smelting books, with brains and gall
Will humanity's insanities
Finally yield beauty
Leading us to stand for all
I'll never be a cool black guy.

(5/22/17)