Male
We think we understand because it’s the most physical
before anything
you look down and you see
they have told you
this
is manhood
if you get stuck in that thinking
your male member defining the state of being a man
you stay in ignorance
A boy
Black
We think we understand because it is more physical
we are taught that it is a color
we are told that it is a race
we learn the subjugation and oppression
we learn the glory of past and present
some understand the duty to the future
preserving and teaching the knowledge learned since the foundation of all mankind
some try to define what it is through someone else’s definition
Some say anything less than African is incorrect
how could a foreign captive held in bondage ever be a citizen of the land that bound them
a bird in a rabbits nest is still a bird
which may be true
some say how can one call oneself African if one
speaks no African language
has no direct African relatives
has never seen the sun rise and set upon
nor ever smelled
African soil
the cultural difference between an American and a European is the same as
the difference between an African and an European
which may be true
Gay
We think we understand because it is popular to define it as something physical
We are told and taught to hide
We are told and taught that it is ok
that is really the only choice one ever has
assuming an identity based on sexuality is reductive thinking
more than sex
more that sexual partners
more than parties
more than stereotypes
this is a trap that some fall into
a lifestyle that is attributed to the word but is not exclusive to it
Free
the ability to love freely based on self
the ability to define self for self and by self
the ability to relate and express self to self and the world
©Christopher F. Brown 2014
