Black Boy

Black Boy
By Valerie Odom
December 1, 2016

Black boy has it all,
but black boy is afraid he’ll fall

Black boy ain’t no sissy,
black boy has to be a man
Ain’t his fault his dad left him

Black boy can’t love his wife
‘cause he a mama's boy
Black boy can’t play with dolls,
he gotta play with masculine toys

It’s a lot he feels within,
black boy tries to wipe off his brown skin

He thinks he’s too dirty,
he can’t get clean

Sits in the bathtub all night,
cries himself to sleep

But what he doesn’t know is that he is a king,
black boys brown beautiful skin is a cherished thing

Black boy gotta play by the rules,
If he don’t then y'all gone see him on the news

Black boy can’t play with no cops,
can’t eat no skittles, can’t play hop scotch

Can’t walk down the road,
can’t get a degree
Can’t be woke and can’t be free

Crying, dying and feeling depressed,
black boy is also feeling oppressed

Maybe one day black boy will have it all,
maybe one day black boy can finally stand tall.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017

Poem

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Rodrigues Avatar
May 8, 2017 at 2:16 PM
Beautiful! Nicely done, Valerie!
Browning Avatar
May 3, 2017 at 2:07 PM
Love this poem. Being a black man this speaks to me.
Rios Avatar
May 3, 2017 at 9:36 AM
This piece might stop racism
Bashiru Avatar
April 13, 2017 at 4:27 AM
Have to agree with Darren White. It is a powerful poem. Thanks so much from sharing. 'maybe one day black boy can finally stand tall' love it
White Avatar
April 13, 2017 at 1:45 AM
Very powerful first poem on PoetrySoup, And so well written, may many follow :) Welcome!
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