ICU

I SEE YOU darker brother

I SEE YOU darker sister

Do not follow them into the night!

This is not your fight!

I’ve seen you since that first ship here

Kidnapped, enslaved, tortured, in fear

Land of the Free is what they tried to make me

But every time you try, they hang you from a tree.

I SEE YOU darker sister

I SEE YOU darker brother

They call you lazy while you build

They call you violent while they rape and kill

They call you savages while they eat your skin

They call you animals while you raise their kin

They call you thieves while they steal my land and people

They call you heathens while a God of War runs their steeple.

I SEE YOU darker children

I SEE YOU in your kitchens

Free to read and not be called crazy

Free from sadistic whims of the bored and lazy

They see your beauty, but will never be ashamed

Being ashamed is not a part of their game

Keep singing, my darker brother and sister,

I hear you and your songs, even when you whisper.

I SEE YOU darker brother

I SEE YOU darker sister

‘Eat in the kitchen’ will never be my plea

America is you and you have always been me

You are the ones who make me great

They are the ones who created their fate

These crossroads may bring my death

But it’s you who will give me my last breath.