Oh, You See Me

Oh, you see me
I’m big and
I’m black and
I’m loud, and
That’s the problem isn’t it?

I won’t shut up
I won’t sit down
You can’t monetize my pain
I won’t let you pimp my praise

You see me, yet
You see the me you need to see, so
You can keep seeing a you
That shines in the better light

Ignore the shadows that form
Over my brow and under my eyes
You see me as far as
Your fragile selves can muster, and
Why bother to look deeper
When so many who look like me
Still dance to the offbeat of your measure

Oh, say can you see, me?
Oh! You see me!
But do you see you?