CHAMELEON

I am always noticed
but outcasted in the same respects.
Pictured as the only spec in the classroom,
I am known as the:
less fortunate shadow,
challenging the intelligence of segregation.
Nominated to fail,
excel,
or comprehend.

Language spoken,
unspoken
My major is English...
without the utterance of Ebonics,
So my name doesn't get called much,
But is often mispronounced.
So I sit,
studiously,
impatiently,
learning how to be that only evil spirit in the classroom.
"What big nose she has,
What strange clothes she wears,
And where are her flip-flops?"

Constant stares at the financial aid,
student loan,
soon they predict-the College Drop Out Kanye West was talkin about.
He was right:
"Racism still alive they just be concealin it."

Still,
Black girls- pull your hair up in raggedy pony tails,
Black boys- throw on those J's,
Put a smile on your face...
And do that dance!
All the while knowing:
Tupac, 50cents, Mike Jones...Who?....Mike Jones trivia.
Along with Black Histories own:
Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks studies...
since those are the only type of questions you are expected to know, and answer.
Look down in shame anytime talk of slavery comes about,
even if you proud to be the granddaughter of one.
And for extra credit:
Laugh at your white "superiors" corny ass jokes,
And add a nice touch by suckin his butt.

What about your race!
My race?
Well my race encourages and discourages me in the same respects.
Saying,
"Reach for the stars baby, you can do any thang."
"Live the life of a Nubian queen"
But
Don't forget to be that queen of ass shakin,
money makin-
spendin time on spinnin rims,
Yea they 15's...
But they clean right.
keep a grip on that pig,
cause that's where the ticket is.
You be the best damn puppet you can be.

And after that,
Well after that then maybe things will make sense...
Or maybe I'll be called on.

ebstewart,2006
sweated techniques publishing
all rights reserved