Pools

A black professional poolside on the fourth of July 
Is like a penny at the bottom of a fountain
Wishes of cooling off on summer days will not be granted
Thought going natural so we could get our hair wet
Would relax the gatekeepers
We have never been expected to measure up
Pools have long been running over with racism
Cascading the burden of proof on the shoulders of the victims
Its draining like the pool Miss Dandridge stuck her foot in
As American as crooked congressmen
Who use water as a weapon against neighborhoods 
Where the running water and children have matching melanin
They are five times more likely to drown 
Because their access to water was revoked 
By fear of black men swimming too close 
Pool passes are only for the cabanaboy
Serving drinks and fetish dreams
The only back strokes acknowledged
Are the ones our ancestors endured
Starting our story with slavery
Makes it hard to understand our ancestors were masters of the waves
Black culture was sun bleached out of surfing
Got you believing it started with white boys from California 
Suntans are on reserve
We are not allowed to get darker
Unless it’s from back breaking labor
ID cards don’t mean equality when someone smells too much freedom in our joy
They’ll ask for our address
And try to gentrify or redline us out the rent
White people who say racism has ended 
Don’t have black friends
Black people who think the times are different 
Don’t have black friends
With holes in our life jackets
We’ve kept this country afloat since the 1700s
We can build our own pools
Everyone but us profits off what we consume and create
We should have been marching for our own space
Instead of chasing the waterfalls of integration
Now we’re drowning in the need for acceptance
We’ve been warned
When black faces are too close to white waters
Rapid phone calls to the police will be made
They don’t give a damn how much you make
They’ll leak your photo to the press
And make the arrest on your character public
Privately they agree water is a privilege 
Bottled up in the thoughts that we aren’t human
We’ve been tricked into remaining still
While they sparkle
We’re still stagnant
Still asking for permission to swim