Black Excellence

Justin Morris
Contributor 

This is excellence.
Black excellence.
This excellence is ever prevalent, always relevant
Pure effervescence, a glowing sentiment
Of God’s gift from above, it’s heaven sent
I could be a lawyer, judge, even President.
This is excellence.
An excellence that makes cops kill just for the hell of it
Creates for us a world of pestilence
Turns my sleep into restlessness
Makes me wonder, is this heaven sent?
And they say the present is a gift, if it’s a present then
Why do I feel like I’ve been to hell and back again?
Why does this excellence make me feel like a peasant?
Why am I being followed around this seven-eleven?
Why am I being thrown into this figurative lion’s den?
Why am I forced to constantly wonder when…
At times I question the benefits of this sentiment
What about this can be benevolent?
This cycle seems endless
But can you can never end this
Black excellence.
And that’s why I’ll continue to pen this,
And send this, extend this message
Of deep depression and of my people
Who’ve been enslaved since their first impression.
I’m forced to question everyday
Will I become another lesson?
To young boys in this country to comply and shut your mouth when talking to the police
If you want to avoid any transgressions.
No.
It’s time we start addressing this problem
Or we’ll continue digressing as a people, when we need to start progressing.
And no we can’t control our circumstance
But we control what we create
We control the food we put on our plate
We control how long we chose to wait
A mind is a terrible thing to waste they say
So can we please take haste in our hate for each other
And learn to appreciate our brothers and sisters
It’s the only way we’ll be great.
This is excellence.
And soon our queens and kings will sing let freedom ring
As hope brings light to every living thing
This is excellence.
Black excellence.