dear black people…
remember this
once….you were royal
kings and queens with rivers at your feet instead of sewers
precious stones about your wrists instead of cuffs
once we were kings
dear black men
remember this
you are strong
and you are worthy
you are worthy of everything
and you are worth something
and someone, somewhere, has hopes for you
believes in you
loves you
when i look at you
i see
miles and miles of savannah
and your skin shining against the dust
i see your mind and your spirit
i see your neck tall and strong
i see you ruling
remember this
dear black women
before they made your body into the machinery
of a system that would see you dead
your womb was blessed at birth
for you in sweat pushed out this nation
this earth
when i look at you
i see
straight shoulders and a back like board
i see villages around you and grass for miles
i see
waters flowing around your feet
tides bending to your will
i see tribal meeting and you speaking
your power is equal to all
i see you
remember this
before you were slaves
packed like chattel
in the belly of the ship that would become the beast that eats your children
fingers around their necks digesting them from birth
making them doubt their human-ness
before you were auctioned
fingers in your mouth
hands about your breasts
assessing your ‘worth’
you were royal
black people
do not let your more recent history define you
even as it continues to consume you
a maze you swallow with your first breath
and travel for the rest of your life
with no exit in sight
in the rain
at night
even as you are stuck here
and struck down at every turn
remember
before this
before That
you were royal
remember your history
but remember all of it
all the way back to the beginning
before bullets pierced your wattle and daub huts
and ivory hunters stole your daughters from the bus on the way from school
before your name was an indictment
and your skin proof of guilt
before these things
swim in your bloodlines
through the needle point poison
through the sea sickness and jumping over the deck
keep swimming all the way back
and remember
once
we were kings and queens
remember
and act like it
mooretalkja 