Warrior At The Gate

There is no greater
government conspiracy
than thinking that I am worthless,
that my black skin
relegates me to a degree of being
that is less than a shadow
barely a breadth of human
or that I am
more insignificant
than smallest insect that scurries along
in the dark, unseen by you or your ilk—

But I know better
even as you tiptoe around me
with your delicate sensibilities
I listen to you
making your innuendos and whispering
your insinuations
justifying your sick blindness to my existence
But know that I watch
and I stand at the ready
a warrior at the gate
lifted by the strength
of my ancestors before me

because even bigger than the fallacy
of my “lack of worth”
is the truth
of your cowardice
your fear
your ignorance