by Brennen Gregory Paul Daniels
Angry Black Boy wasn’t born Angry
or Black. Both were colored onto
his beautiful ebony skin by conquistadors
who sought to contain the complexity
of complexions sprawled across
Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean
Still Angry Black Boy is given this name
at birth. And in case he is too dumb
to remember, peaceful white man
spews facts about how angry
Black Boy is
how angry
Black Boy
has always been,
and how angry
Black Boy
will always be
and then tells Angry Black Boy
to stop being Angry
and while he’s at it
to stop being Black
tells Angry Black Boy to just blend
into the white where all colors cease.
Angry Black Boy is now confused
turns to other Angry Black Boys
who have only survived by stripping
themselves of anger
and any
and all
other emotion
who only can thrive
by peeling away the earth
that has cradled and colored
their beautiful skin
becoming colorless
boys
Angry Black Boy learns
to run from his anger
learns to sprint from any semblance
of his blackness
So boy runs
everytime Angry Black Boy
tries to rise up
boy feels so much
Anger feels so much
sorrow boy feels so much so
Blackness
boy runs
so much
One day boy
is so Angry he runs
through his neighborhood
shared by peaceful white man
who sees Angry Black Boy
who fears Angry Black Boy
peaceful white man
becomes
fearful white man
hateful white man
killer white
man
grabs his gun
runs
after Angry Black Boy
who can’t run fast enough from his anger
who can’t sprint far enough from his blackness
killer white man
shoots Angry Black Boy
lets Angry Black Boy’s beautiful
ebony skin sink back
into the earth it so
closely resembles
Angry Black Boy dies
Angry and Black
Leaves behind legions
Of Angry Black Boys
who now can no longer run
or be Angry
or be Black
Tell me,
which of Angry Black Boy’s sins
were punishable by death
His Anger
Or His Blackness
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