Reality Check

“I been real,” you say, too real for this
“fake ass world.”

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry
because how many times have I heard
this word thrown around? but
I do know I want to shove it down your throat, want to see you buried
beneath the weight of the brokenness you take advantage of, feed on and intensify and break again,
the fear you have forced me to carry.

You who pray:
"Glory be to me and only me!"
You who: deify yourself,
views people as objects
to be used, discarded, sucked dry
in the wake of your narcissism.
what you want is to be unaccountable
for the seeds of destruction you sow,
all the while paying lip service to a word you do not understand--
not an individual unafraid to stand out, worthy of honor and valor.

I will force my fear and righteous anger
onto your tongue
making you taste the bitterness of
your own poison turning against you.
I want to watch you choke on it,
this word you render meaningless,
this word you strip of life.
I want to watch you writhe and fight
and see the look on your face when you are overcome because for the first time
you will know what “real” feels like.

I hope it is everything and nothing you built it up to be.