Themselves

Themselves
Akilah Riley

Truth be told
Many of us sellin our soul
In moments
Dressed up in condiments
To savour the flavour of the disguise
So we could swallow the lies
That we feed ourselves
About ourselves
And so we present ourselves
Wearin masks of themselves
Yeah u heard me “themselves”
Themselves are the selves that u tryin to be
Everytime u say that u find that u too heavy
Is dem self tell yuh that yuh need to be a size three
Or four
Either or
You still a liar
Cus u know that u would prefer to eat that slice of pizza
Or that las piece of macaroni pie
But is dem self have u wrapped up in their lie

Truth be told
Many of us sellin our soul
Everytime we say
“U see me I is a black man that only like red skin woman”
Or me, me eh want no hard head black man
I want a soft head chile
A light skin chile
Cus I so shallow and dumb
I can’t figure out that when I say that ,I practisin racism
Against my own
In a society created by themselves
Yeah u heard me, “themselves”
Is dem self who does advertise skin lightener
And is dem self who tell yuh that yuh need relaxer
And for those of you who didn’t pick up on the blatant deceit
Jus know that is dem self who tell yuh yuh could only wear dreadlocks if it neat

Truth be told
Many of us selling our soul
With the Queen’s English
Laughin at those who can’t speak it
Because their ancestors were forced to merge it
With their own native tongue
For your information
Yuh see we does call that creolisation
But u wouldn’t know that
Cus u too busy laughin at
The “ I does” , the “dem is’ and the ‘ent’
That we does hear every time we own people make a comment
On the 7 o ‘clock news
But is YOU who confuse
not dem
Cus dey livin to please deyself
And not THEMSELVES
U remember THEMSELVES??
Who make sure yuh know it was “He, she or it is” and that “I” came before “am”
But yet still “U” will never come before “Dem” as yuh fail every English exam
And I hope yuh realize that is dem self keeping yuh back from getting out of the education system
Cus though yuh bright and scorin high in Spanish, maths and social
Somehow yuh cyar learn colonial

Truth be told
It have some of us sellin our soul
If it is yuh only pretendin yuh want change and revolution
But if I were to take yuh seriously and make that happen
You would be the first man to run
Cus u dam well know you is a faker who love everything bout this system
Now I see you and all comin to get poetic
And perform music with hard lyrics
Just to entertain me
Just to mamaguy me
Performin in yuh Che Guevara jersey
And yuh still eh know the man nationality
Kill yuh dead Che was a Cuban
Get out ah here yes man
Go by yuhself
Actually go a lil further
Go by “themselves”
Imagine is dem self actually figure out a way to sell you the revolution
See dey does advertise it
And den glamorize it
While you only fantasizing bout it
Till yuh sick with infatuation
That though yuh lyrics hard, yuh still in the same position
Cus is dem self creatin this world for u
Where u cant even fight for what is true
See you stuck the belief
That is we head alone that yuh does tief
But open yuh eyes for once
Cus when u busy tryin to front
U givin dem self exactly wha dey want