Two Souljahs at War (2006)

"Two wrongs don't make a right
But it damn sure makes it even."
She said
While
Dressing her
America
in tin
foil red
looking for the silver lining
mad
because
somebody bought the last box

unconventional label
and yet
a familiar brand name
of spiteful pain

her suffering is oddly
ubiquitous
popularly obsolete
a throwback kinda love
not subtle like quilts
but brazen like gold lame
after all,
no one wears white hoods
after labor day
especially on the supreme court


“Even for children who grow to hate their mothers,
their hatred will be the strongest love they know”
she wrote,

and like the prodigal son, there he was

waiting for the moment
This man
Of big appetites and big dreams
This man
rumored to have read everything ever written about himself
This man who
Circled a contract with America
In red
Decidedly
And with finality
And found a loophole

He has to take
This one down
To win the crown
has to play the game
to mark touch down
as cleats meet
feet
and turf meets earth
cheered on by a crossover crowd
we know so well

In his America
Everyday
Elections
light up every window

electrifying electorates
Spin towards earth
Like falling stars
Or snowy jazz
With a deep breathed “Ah”

And so,
Mother to son
we watch him climb the stairs
reach the landing
and throw the ornament
watch it shatter
unmoved

this man
enchanting
as he is
estranged
from
truth
and yet
his lies
have root
in American dreams
and for that, we forgave

we feed him grits
And how many a times did we turn to him
This lover, raw like greens
To a bare stomach
So in sync with their world
And yet could never overcome it

We call him native son
From a different tongue
And crown him with
Our crushed dreams

But there is an uneasiness
About that song of long ago

The wanderlust lover,
Doin’ her up like Christmas
Calling out to her
bare brown legs
On a familiar street corner
listening to the
click-clak tap, tap
as high heels come running
looking for the fight
---her flaw

now she’s patented
Without permission
Given to tradition
One man made King David
"Queen" Esther
made
up
with nowhere to go

A Christmas star
he puts her back on the shelf
after the
season
passes
quickly
and
unevenly