You are not from there
You are not from here
You are from your mom
And from your dad
You are an African-in-America
An African and American
Proudly wear them both
Wherever you go
Knowing home is not a place
Except if that place be a space in your heart

I give you what I have
Not as dogma
But so you would have somewhere to start
Because we all need a place to land
When gravity proves too mighty a foe

With that said…

I’m sorry it’s not patty in buns
Cheese melted over dough
It’s black, slimy and may taste funny
But my God you are going to try it
Few hundred times
If that’s what it takes for you to like it
What I put on your plate is not just dinner
It is my culture
Passed from many generations before mine
I’m just trying to pass the baton
I hope you like it

I would like you to practice the same faith as mine
But knowing God is more important
Than allegiance to any one religion
I hope you find your own answers to the questions you will undoubtedly have

School is not a choice
In this family doing well is a tradition
In the midst of all A’s
I will zone in on the single A-
And ask you to explain yourself
How dare you do anything less than your best
And don’t tell me that is your best
For I know better
My ladder is your foot rest
There shouldn’t be any reason why
You cannot climb higher
Rip all the opportunities this country bestows

If you don’t speak my language
It won’t be for lack of trying
I whispered it in your ears when you were born
Peppered my English with it whenever I could
Especially when I was mad
Cuss you out knowing damn well you didn’t understand
But you know I was mad, right?
Pretty sure whatever I said was bad, right?
See, mission accomplished
Now get over there and act like the good African child that you are

I know, we live in America
We can have an open conversation
About whatever whenever wherever
But don’t get it twisted
Under this roof is not a democracy
Mom and Dad are absolute rulers
Rest assured your voice will be considered
But when it’s all said and done
I decide which way we go
Your job is to say yes sir and follow along
Help make it the right way we go
When I’m wrong I will let it be known, I promise
Put pride aside, when you are right
I would let you go
Give you the benefit of the doubt one too many times
Hold back on “I love you” more than I should
But I love you
More than the breath I take
More than Justin loves Selena
More than Romeo loved Juliette
But you don’t know anything about them do you?

Chances are I will not make it to all the recitals and football games
But rest assured I’m always there
A thousand miles away
I’m always there
If the crowd boos, the scoreboard says lose
I’m always there
To woo you because in my book you are forever a winner

It’s a lonely road we walk, you and I
Trying to make something new
True to that place I left behind
And this place you were born
Friends may laugh at you
Ridicule you
For your name, the way you speak
Your hair, the cloths you wear
Your family’s weird customs they let spill out onto fine American streets
They are jealous
They wish their wings were as colorful as yours
Birds dance to the rhythm of their names…like they do yours
You are new leaves on an old tree
Jewel in a majestic crown
Epic poems have been sung to proclaim your lineage
Legendary duels fought to protect your heritage
A roadblock is not the end of the road
You walk on the shoulders of giants
We jump over mountains (for a walk in the park)
Fly to the heavens
Let our forefathers know
The flame is still burning
It’d take more than oceans to put it out
Even after that, we still keep on marching
You are king (without the cliché)
Queen (not just because you are Black)
Don’t let anyone make you feel less than regal