Layla Riley-Hill Poet Free verse

The escape

Control. 
That's what the end goal becomes
Unhealthy. Healthy.
It doesn't matter, the obsession is the same
Maddening - when you can't have it 
Euphoric - when it’s yours 

The movies, both comfort and killer
The dreams it enables, but the reality it hinders
I'm not me in the movies -
But im someone, who becomes what I long for
In the movies I don't have to be me anymore 

I don't have to be the only black person in the friend group,
Used as a diversity addition
The one who has to play a role, that they didn't audition 
I don't have to be quiet,
All because they preferred my silence
I don't have to be the target,
To white people's ignorance, the type that makes me the victim -
Of a cruel, discriminatory system
I don't have to be the black girl,
Whose only purpose is to be the shoulder for everyone to cry on


I can be the girl who is free of expectations,
Be the girl with the love interest
I can be whoever i want to be,
Most importantly i can be free
No conforming to respectability politics,
No tone policing, nor code switching 
The movies breed opportunities, i will never get as me
I get to have the looks and body of my dreams,
Even if the fantasy is only temporary

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