Killmonger (poem)
Dee Allen

Do you think
The horned masque I wear
Makes me beastly?
Not even! It's just a head-dress! A disguise!
My people's position
In the grand scheme of things
Forces the beast
Out of me!

The Navy S.E.A.L.S.
Schooled me on everything I know about
Leading strike teams
De-stabilising regimes
All over this planet.
Military-tested, battle-proven
In Iraq, Afghanistan
And The Motherland.
The scars covering
My arms and torso signify
Confirmed kills, earning me
My name.

Two billion
Africans of the Diaspora are
Always subject to another's tyranny,
Always victims of another's theft,
Always lacking everything,
Never in the lead.
This long-time trend has to change!

We have the technology
Leaps and bounds over every other nation.
We have the weaponry
To defend ourselves.
We can keep our own land
And resources from our soil.
We can break from our isolation
And prove our self-sufficiency
To an ignorant Earth

Now that I
Defeated the original
Prince, the Black Panther,
One on one and rightfully sit on the throne of Wakanda.
____________________________________________

W: 7.31.18
[ For Gabriel Cortez. ]