the america that i live in doesn't require me to be in chains or present a certificate of my purchase when i walk alone

but are my chains really gone

 

am i not bound by the color of my skin

by the statistics

by expectations to be pregnant

fatherless

and suffering from aids

 

are my father and brother not bound

by their high standard

to be slinging dope

to be a rapist

murderer

or thug

 

is my mother not bound

by society 

to have several crack babies

each fathered by a different and strange man

 

in the america that i live in

are my chains gone

are their chains gone

 

or are my chains

his chains

her chains

 

statistics

standards

expectations

 

is this the america that i live in?