Jabari Unmasked

Fresh out of middle school, we

all understand the rules: wear

whatever’s in, scowl on cue to convince the

world we’re fearless — anything to mask

the million insecurities that

pockmark our skin like acne. Gone the grins

when we strut down the hall. We talk tough and

hope to God it’s enough to get us by. It’s all lies.

We despise the masquerade. It

may disguise our fears, but also hides

our kind and tender hearts, our

agile minds, the wit that sits behind our cheeks —

who’d guess that some of us are geeks and

nerds and poets, too? Clothed in shades

of chocolate skin, our color works to camouflage our

character and promise — at least, in certain eyes.

One look, and we are neatly judged this

gang, these thugs, these dark delinquents in debt

to society. Meanwhile, you fail to see that we

are college-bound (more than a few), prepared to pay

attention to psychology, the sciences, the arts, to

thoughtfully unfurl the scrolls of human

history. Instead, you see a thief who uses guile.

Is such unfairness what the world is filled with?

The evidence is seen in spirits ripped and torn.

Still, the world needs the dreams we offer, and

should we leave those dreams bleeding

on the road, we’d shrink our own hearts

down to nothing, and that we

would regret. Better to let our anger go, and smile.

The ignorant ignore as best you can, and

in the end, mask aside, freshen your mouth

with ferocious lines of potent poetry, with

metaphors that mightily reveal the myriad

of emotions you feel – yet, in all their subtleties.