Out And About
Cindy Duhe
Coming out is hard
for a black man
expected to be the quarterback
for a Georgia college
where the other players
wear tight fitting pants
stuffed with plums
to be eaten
by a lucky worm.
Coming out is hard
for a black man
making love to a woman
undercover
so that not a soul
will know
who he is.
Coming out is hard
for a black man
at church
with ministers at the pulpit
condemning his name
and face
for the sake
of being moral.
Coming out is hard
for a black man
to do
over a dinner of soul food
at Mammie Raven's house
with more eyes staring at him
than the bowel of
black-eyed peas,
in the green dish on the side
next to the chicken
breasts and thighs.
It's hard
but it's done
and life goes on
regardless of what they all think.
All the black man knows
is that he is finally
free.
