Poem: You know I’ve heard that white men

Please be aware that this poem deals with the themes of racism and colonialism.

You know I’ve heard that white men

You know, I’ve heard that white men

prefer their seasoning on their sheets

the sweat that leaks from black bodies toiling to please

You know, I’ve heard that white men

create shrines to African deities as penance for ancestral sins

They mispronounce the names

tattoo themselves in foreign languages just to have dark immigrant skin

keep polaroid pictures of their exotic adventures hung on a kente patterned painted wall

call themselves woke, only aware of historical flaws

They have none

give to charity to prove their solidarity with the revolution

but ignore that they are the solution

You know, I’ve heard that white men

remember some poppies and not others

The tea that leaked from Asian bodies. a century on

unbreakable tea sets bloom lilies, jasmine, roses

You know, I’ve heard that white men

are masters of our art - as a politeness for ancestral sins

They mispronounce our names

tattoo themselves with the language they stopped us from using

because every child must speak English and foreign tongues are best silenced

would rather remain asleep than woke

because alarm clocks are made in China

drink tea to calm white fragility

but ignore that they spilt the solution

A collaborative poem by Rayne B. King and The Mollusc Dimension