For My Own Protection — Essex Hemphill (1992)
I want to start
an organization
to save my life.
If whales, snails,
dogs, cats
Chrysler and Nixon
can be saved,
the lives of Black men
are priceless
and can be saved.
We should be able
to save each other.
I don’t want to wait
for the Heritage Foundation
to release a study
stating Black men
are almost extinct.
I don’t want to be
the living dead
pacified with drugs
and sex.
If a human chain
can be formed
around missile sites,
then surely Black men
can form human chains
around Anacostia, Harlem,
South Africa, Wall Street,
Hollywood, each other.
If we have to take tomorrow
with our blood are we ready?
Do our s curls,
dreadlocks, and Phillies
make us any more ready
than a bush or a conkaline?
I’m not concerned
about the attire of a soldier.
All I want to know
for my own protection
is are we capable
of whatever
whenever?
