American Dream (October 2003)

it's ok to be confused
i can see the wheels turning in your head
the signals are getting mixed
you're having trouble putting together
what i look like with what i just said

you see this
head full of curls
softened by time
centuries of mixing and matching
and the result is this attractive creature before you

brown hair
brown eyes
round butt
big thighs

i feel bootylicious like Beyonce
i am pissed at Kobe Bryant

yet you still question me and my authenticity
this girl who speaks so articulately
you're puzzled by my versatility
as i shamelessy admit that i know
the theme song to Gilligan's Island

i keep transcending lined
and taking in all that i can handle
but you reduce yourself to
insults and slander
because Clueless is one of my favorite movies

i think i've figured it out...
it's not a question of authenticity
but rather one of jealousy

i'm a pop cultured princess
perpetually perceptive
the the plethora of pastimes
available to me
and as i wax poetic
almost prolific
you notice that my speech is steeped
in suburbia yet my soul
stems from something substantially
larger than New Jersey
i'm springloaded with the spirit of
Celtic melodies and Cherokee myths
Highland flings and Hausa rhythms
Chicago blues and Kansas City soul
i'm everywhere
feel everything
you can't control my geographic boundaries
as i race to embrace society
and become a World Traveler
while you stay stuck in these United States of Ignorance

all i am saying
is give the Beatles a chance
it's ok...go on...dance while no one's watching
see the beauty in Shakespeare's poetry
take in Monet and Salvador Dali
and then flip the script
and dive so deep into Toni Morrison's stories
that you dreams become saturated with bluer eyes
and tar babies
and you wake up humming the
Songs of Solomon
and see how everything in the world connects
borders and walls break down
and you might begin to see how i've grown
but even with all that i've shown you
you still want to classify life
like a box of Crayolas.

Fine
call me white
call me yellow
ooh, call me Oreo
that's one of the most beautiful chocolate browns i've ever seen

it doesn't matter that my skin in the color of
coffee and cream
I am where Scottish, Irish, African and Native American
came to convene
take a good look, honey
I don't need your classification
I am
The American Dream