Mall Muse

The little black dress
on the thin, black mannequin
summons me to the window
of the Black & White store
Price is no concern

I walk my Black in
pay with my black card
Head high, shoulders square,
my hips sway to the Muzak
as I leave dressed in my new black

only to reappear center
stage black
Their blue eyes are like cameras
each adding twenty pounds
ballooning my Black

Dollars do not disguise my Black
do not hide my Black
don’t even minimize my Black
With every swipe
my soul bears the cost

A stipend for their mall minstrel show
the novelty, the happy-go-lucky darky
the dandified coon
the never-ending joke
of my Black face