because i was so beautiful
and so black
and so wild
you wanted to look at me –
there was wonder in your eyes

they were beyond wonder
they wanted to control me
all the time
wanted me, yes
without the danger
the unknown, the power
of me being me

they put me in a cage
if i had raged it would have been just
if i had torn you
limb from limb
i think god may have shrugged

i was not angry at you
i was a lost child too –
any living creature
in captivity
is a lost child
at the whim of whomever
holds the key

they think they are better than us
from that great height everything looks inferior
and, eventually, terrifying

little black boy
here is the secret everyone knows
in ten years
when they look at you
they will only see me
looking back