They Say
They Say
They say,
Black ain’t nothing but a punchline,
Nothing but a missing father on a somber birthday,
Nothing but a comedic
through-line,
showing Black in the worst way.
*
They say,
that Black presence is
Diversity,
that Black employment is
Equity,
that Black involvement is
Inclusion,
Some delusion to maintain your lie that somehow you’re superior,
because your exterior looks a whole lot like a
blank slate,
like an
empty page,
like
endless lies from
meritless rage.
Celebrate big lies,
but ignore mass death,
White supremacist guys,
You spread hate all your life,
and now you get a national
holiday.
They say,
we make everything about race,
Like when niggas asked for freedom and you responded with mace,
like our whole Republic wasn’t founded on
chased—
skin,
Broken bones,
welted backs,
Bloodied tracks,
like when you named the hood after Dr. King,
then shot it up it with crack.
And harsher sentences cus’ they Black,
Like when you bodied Black skin,
then told us to look up to your God and,
Pray.
*
They say,
Pull yourself up by your bootstraps,
but you can’t pull up shit
with chains still around your wrist,
when the boots feel more like handcuffs,
when the shoelaces feel like the key that
locks you in your
place,
that leaves Black girls gone without a trace,
Black boys killed and presented with disgrace,
Like children who look like mixed race,
Because they wonder where their pops be,
‘cus now their
daddy
looks more like Uncle Sam.
Now all they know is the ways of their father,
it may be the only way they feel wanted.
Because he’s the only one to ever say
“I want you”.
Because that’s the only way.
They say,
One nation, under God.
They say,
All men created equal.
They say,
3/5ths human being.
They say,
Separate but equal.
*
They say,
They lie,
They conquer,
They just like King George,
But it’s only a tyrant when their bullshit doesn’t print in
red,
white,
and blue.
Doesn’t matter if it’s 13 colonies,
or 50 states,
when the white stars on the flag is all that matters,
when the poor get poorer,
but the rich get fatter,
Treating political game like it’s just some play—
I say,
Enough of the lies
I say,
Enough Black cries
I say,
Enough tarnished family ties,
I say,
I don’t trust a thing you say,
*
They say.
copyright micah hill 2025
