the Shape Shifter
hey you!
yeaaah, you.
you with the mocked up fedora hat
with your loose cardigans
faux wool striped sweaters
oh… you think you got swag huh?
walking like you got a limp
spouting revolutionary words and thoughts
to revolutionary people with good hearts
hoping we will lick up all of your sweet macktivist pedagogy
oh, you read bell hooks?
now you a feminist?
you, black man, who only dates asian women
shift, change, shift, change, shift, change
as you discover cooler, hipper, more connected networks
you switch up your speak, style, and circle
to fit in to a group that masks your insecurities
your identity, gender, sexuality — all interchangable,
depending on the group flavor
you a cool cat now huh?
hanging with the boys
turning their mirror into your own
their fedoras, trimmed facial hair, and gray vests
becoming
yours
get a grip black man
you are you
stop dropping lovers, friends, and identity
just so you can appear as the cool calm collected popular black cat
to mask the vulnerable, confused, insecured self that you are.
stop giving me your lines
your insincere smiles
your half-hearted attempts at a friendship
that you threw away
the moment
you
decided
that fedoras and music producers
were cooler and hipper
than the rest of us
we back in high school again huh?
playing games
pretending
faking
posing
trying
so
hard
to
fit
in
it’s okay black man
i understand
finding your away around whiteness and blackness
is challenging
but i didn’t know
you were to leave a trail of broken friendships
behind you
so do me a favor cool collected masked macktivist
stop feeding us your bullshit
and just keep it straight up
(or queer up)
now THAT’S real talk.