bring on the trolls

Underneath the bridge we’ve built between our communities
There lives a troll,
As stubborn and unstable as our inter-faith, inter-racial, cross-cultural unity,
This troll is an ugly, mean troll, watching from below as we build
Relationships, forced to recognize reality
Like birds recognize gravity
We fly diversity flags on pirated flagship state schools built on the backs of enslaved
Africans to educate the rich fools of masters with majors
And here I am with the same skin tone
That masters made you think was superior
Trying to build a bridge between our communities
To break down the fear in a honest dialogue
I’m not afraid of the trolls
But my image is haunting
Talking to the mixed sons and daughters of builders never broken,
I’m an immigrant mutt flaunting my assimilated strut into empty privileged whiteness
Hoping
That I too have a rich cultural heritage
I know we all do
But America has buried the
Roots of us all like a forest flooded
They’re still here
Deep in our souls like the bones of the countless bodies that jumped overboard to find peace on the floor of the Atlantic,
Invisible, like the particles of people falling from the smoke of death chimneys
Or the names of those purposely disappeared, forever,
Screaming help me
Help me build this bridge
LORD HELP ME!
Help me fashion new tools,
Audre was right, we can’t use the master’s
So we’ll create our own
Language, our own bridges, no matter how troubled the water,
WE’LL WADE!
We’ll build an ark and sail
So bring on the trolls
Bring on the haters
We’ll fill our ark with two of every stuffed animal and hug our enemies into submission
We can do it. We’re just that cute.
We can take spoken word back underground if they try to hip hop us into killing ourselves again
We are no longer for sale
Good intentions cannot buy solidarity
And this is not meant to be disrespectful, but
FUCK YOUR GOLF COURSES!
Someone died today for lack of access to clean water.
Do you know how much energy it takes to power all the lawn mowers that keep these businessmen’s playgrounds trim?
Do you know how many people we could feed with less than two percent of a CEO’s salary?
Do you have any idea what the fuck I’m talking about?!?!
Bring on the trolls!
They can hang under our bridges all they want with their talk radio and light pink newspapers, shit
I got trolls in my family, and I know from experience,
They’re scared
The bully saw his reflection and winced
The hater broke down in tears and asked for what all prisoners ask for . . .
I want my mommy
I want to change
But I need my daddy to beat it out of me
Coz if you look at yourself and see an oppressor, then you too are trapped
Imprisoned in life cycles of violence
This is beyond physical.
Ask any survivor, they’ll tell you where real pain lives
Tattooed on your mind like numbers on the forearms of children waiting in line for trains to nowhere
Tell me
What separates us?
“ain’t no mountain high, ain’t no valley low, ain’t no river wide enough, baby”
As long as you’re willing to fly
Like a bird recognizing gravity
Pull me down all you want
It is no travesty to be stuck on the ground
But it’s an amazing tragedy
To never be found
Dreaming of that sweet sound
Of harmony
So I’ma keep building bridges, and you,
You can join us,
And together we will say
Bring on the trolls.