The Other
I have a little other
I keep him safe with me
I cannot let him out to play
on that we can agree
He is a he and I am she
He’s grey and I am pink
All day lies he’s telling me
to say aloud and think
I’d like to think I’m smarter
I can keep him in his cage
perhaps instead to barter
his freedom for my rage
When I am whole and thinking straight
He cannot make me speak
when I’m frightened or upset
out the harsh words leap
The racial slurs, the horrid words
we use on young and old
“It’s just the way that I was taught
and how the tale is told”
My little other likes to laugh
at other folks’ expense
and wastes his brain in throwing shade
and vilest arguments
And with him I must abide
and I can never still him
He will always live inside
and I must never kill him
For if I do I will not know
that I am moving forward
I have to chase him as he goes
like naughty children doorward
He is my care long as I live
I wish I’d never met him
But he is not the boss of me
No, if I don’t let him.
