WE ARE THE BLACK MAN

I am a Black Man.

I was born of a dirt-brown woman;

I cry tears of blood,

My veins run wet with sweat.

I am a Black Man-

I was raised in the shadows of despair

Nurtured by the sting of the scourge

Though my muscles ache by day

And my phallus throbs by night,

My mind continues to reel and rock

As my freedom I try to plot

I am a Black Man-

I cut my teeth on lead-based paint

And skinned my knee on racial hate,

I am a Black Man;

Torn from my native soil

Used like pools of unnatural oil

Refined, confined, derided by men.

I am a Black Man

And I feel so all alone!

I was a slave-

An infinite entity in durance vile,

In search of freedom I thought I had found.

I’ve looked around to find few of my

Fellow conned victims present, why?

The way out was not so hard to find—

And to my dismay, “my” Black Woman is not here.

So she to,  is unable to break the chains

That bind her!

Indeed, I feel so all alone;

Now that I’m free, how free, am I

When she is not.

I am a Black Man.

Though I have overcome my fate

Where oh Mother of Africa is my Amazonian mate?

Strong and serene to fight by my side;

Both refusing to die.

We must overcome our hate by perpetuating its fate.

We complete each other.

So come Black Woman

Let us lead the way

We are the essence of the whole Black Race

Destined to be, are we-

Though my muscles bulge an my spirit soars,

I am incomplete without my Black Mate

For that I am not, she is

The tender creature I’ve forgotten how to be

And in my war torn mind

She is my comforting peace.

Though we grow weary of the test

We strive on for the battle rages on.

Oh! Brown skinned beauty

Reminder of my native pride

Of which to will they try to deny…

But it shall never die

For I am a Black Man;

With my Black Woman,

WE ARE THE BLACK MAN

by

     Sammie L. Carter

      Copyright 8\15\77

~ by Sam373's Blog on March 9, 2011.

10 Responses to “WE ARE THE BLACK MAN”

  1. Absolutely shattering. Perfection. This speaks of a reality I perceive but cannot name. I am completely moved.

    Shalom.

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  2. It feels as though you lived through that poem, shared the life of that slave. Your poem deservrs the widest of audiences, and I hope you publish it.

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  3. speaking up is cool in this case.
    well done.

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  4. […]  sam373′s blog […]

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  5. Great poem – thank you. Well done.

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  6. So powerful. The treatment of slaves and even the “free” black man today is one of mankind’s greatest shames. Thank you for sharing from the heart the story of The Black Man. pat

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  7. human greed is so very repulsive. Slavery is one of the darkest patch on human civilization, its shame that this practice continues till date.

    your poem came from depth of your soul.

    trisha

    slavery

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  8. This was moving .. Makes you imagine and feel the plight of the speaker of these words !

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  9. It is not often I find myself speechless, but the passion in that poem is far beyond my humble words.

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  10. Very Powerful –

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