Poem With No Title

I am black,
I am a man,
I'm a proud black man,
But being black doesn't determine who I am,

I remember going to elementary school,
Where being black was the exception not the rule,
Surrounded around kids I was told I wasn't suppose to like,
But how was I not suppose to like kids that treated me alright,
One day I went to school and ask my friend can he come to my house to play,
He said "No, my dad won't let play at a niggers house, no way!",
I went home and asked my mother what nigger meant, she explained it to me that night,
I cried myself to sleep hoping I wake up White,

After high school I decided to join the Marine Corps,
It was around 1990-91 it was during the Gulf War,
I loved the Marine Corps, I spoke the lingo 24-7 my uniform was high and tight,
Then this so called "brother" said to me this white boy is acting blacker then you, you need to stop acting white,
I said I'm not acting white I'm just acting like a Marine, once you put this uniform everyone's  just green,
I don't know what I did that day to provoke his attack,
That night I went to sleep hoping I wake up Black,

I got out of the Marine Corps and took the police test,
They said they were look for the cream of the crop you know the" Best of the Best,
A few months later they offered me badge,
I asked about my friend John because he had the same score that I had,
Mind your business, just worry about you,
John don't fit the quota, he don't look like you do,
Damn, you know what they say It ain't no fun when the rabbit got the gun,
But two wrongs don't make a right, so who really won,
So that night,
I went to sleep glad I wasn't White,

A few years later on the job I rolled up on a crowd,,
I can still hear them, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!, I can still hear it it was so loud,
I drew my weapon, called for backup, told everyone to get down,
It was a group of black and white people trying to kill this Mexican man on the ground,
They would have killed that man that night if I wouldn't have showed up this I know is true,
That night I went to sleep, proud that I was Blue.

Later while on the job I received a phone call,
Terrill three men broke into your Mothers house, and yes we caught them all,
They say we as black people are suppose to take care of each other,
If that's so true then why did these so call "brothers" murder my black mother and black brother,
Now they're gone and there's nothing that can bring them back,
That night I went to sleep, realizing it made no difference that they were Black.

7yrs ago I met someone who literally changed my life,
Giving me the privilege of making her my wife,
Giving me the vision to set myself free,
Of all the labels I've been given by society,
Never feeling the pressure of me being black and her being white,
Last night I went to sleep and I slept soundly all night,

See my mother was mixed and she had fair skin,
My father was black mixed with some Creole and Indian,
Basically, just like everyone else I'm not really sure what I am,
But there is one thing I am sure of, I'm more then just a black man,
I'm a true friend, loyal patriot, loving husband and great father,
And if you need to add black to that please don't bother,

I am black,
I am a man,
I'm a proud black man,
But being black doesn't determine who I am,
And if labeling me to you  seems somewhat vital,
Then just like this poem I'd rather have no title.

Terrill Snead