Black Man is my brother,
an ally in war.
Black Man was my lover,
but not anymore.
In action flicks, the black man's
always the first to die,
But in relationships, the black man's
always the first to lie.
I got tired, for he didn't recognise
my pain and strife.
My children he sired, but he never
learned to value life.
Black Man is my brother,
wings on which to soar.
Black Man was my lover,
but not anymore.
For when we swam, he
tried to drown me.
And when I sang, he wouldn't
let them crown me.
The love he claimed, didn't
heal but hurt me.
The one he blamed,
I felt forever unworthy.
Black Man is my brother, and for
that I love him even more.
Black Man was my lover,
but not anymore.
He still and always has my respect,
no doubt.
Yet still, from my love, he
expects a way out.
In me he never dreams he could
find that which he seeks.
I shudder to think what that means,
left feeling helpless and bleak.
Black Man is my brother,
a comrade in war.
Black Man was my lover,
but that seems not to work anymore.
Because the black man's
love evolves by the hour.
He understands love, but
perceives it as power.
The power he has been denied,
and grew up having never known,
But maybe if he'd tried, he'd
have realised he's not alone.
Black Man is my brother,
with potential to be so much more.
Black Man was my lover,
how I long for that once more.
The glory days, when black kings
revered their queens.
The magic ways, black love made
things not as bad as they seemed.
We didn't have to look to the "man",
to tell us what we can't and can.
It didn't hurt to give a damn,
and Black Man never feared to
be a man.
Black Man is my brother,
and shall be forever more.
But Black Man can't ever be my lover,
till he knows what life is for.
Written by Mountain Lily
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