Backpacks -Leslé Honoré
When black boys are born
We mothers kiss their faces
Twirl our fingers in their curls
Put them in carriers on our chest
Show them to the world
Our tiny black princes
/1
Makes you a target
Don't put your ego before your safety
Don't talk back
Don't look them in the eye
Get home to your wife
Your son
BRICK
They weigh them down.
This knowing
Of having to carry the load
Of their blackness
/6
The straps just dig deeper into their skin
Their backs ache
But their souls don't break
Our beautiful black men
When you say to me
#alllivesmatter
I simply ask
Will your son die with the world on his back
Mine Will
/7