Et tu Mater? (You Too Mama?)

My sistahs…
If you are still using
the N word
to describe
black men,
you are
as much of the problem
as other people
who use it,
you are the bullets
that we use on each other,
you are the finger
of that trigger happy cop
who shoots our sons
and our fathers,
you are the eyes
that they see us through.
And yet
you are supposed to be
our mothers?
That word
is the mark of slavery
and used to justify
every no good thing
against us.
As a black man,
your using that word
makes you as much
my enemy
as anyone else
who uses it
against me.
I cannot welcome
that word
into my life,
into my music,
into my home,
or into
my heart.
You might as well
be shooting me
or your own kids
yourself.
We don’t stand
a chance
at dealing with
the hatred,
bigotry,
or racism of others
when we so easily
accept
hating ourselves
through our
own words.

-Neo Blaqness