I am black man, I let you know that I am from thee and this is my pride
my proudness of just being who I am, with a sista by my side...
Not good enough, things now in a time of dark and mistrust be still
even though I wanna challenge my sistas, loyalty be my will...
I wanna feel loved, I wanna feel spirited, the feeling of honesty at bay
because of the honest love of a honest wmona, no more can i say...
She be strong, resistant, striving for both sides, that appeals to me
I say of my self, be real black man, I am black me, yes I am thee...
Our children need us to be fathers, our women need us to be men
we need to stand up, be ourselves don't fall by the wayside again...
I don't downgrade us, I talk as if a woman were saying what i write
but our sistas want us to emerge from the dark, come to the light...
I don't write this poem just because of my pen, i write for my heart
but the real reason is because I love woman, that tempted me to start...
these things called trust, honesty and faith, they look for in me
I call of myself, let me be these things, I am black man, I am thee...
Edward Orlando Griffin