Has my birth been in vain
Does my presence on this earth mean nothing
To those who's afraid to walk the same streets as I
Afraid of my masculinity and sometimes brashness
Afraid of my so-called unloving ways
Where many feel there's no reason for me to need the same
Has my growth from boy to man
Only provided the back that was needed
To build the institutions that have restricted or housed me
Does my existence continue to disgust the black woman
Although she looks at me and pretend to love or respect me
Out of pure sympathy
Yet not searching the cause or reason I am
Should I desire to produce another on my kind
Who may also feel the pain someday of being a black man

Adapted from book of poems Looking at Ourselves
© 2004 by T. Duffy Afro Staff Writer

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