They Set Us Free

You and me know why
The caged bird still sings.
Because it is a crow. Black absorbs all
The heat of hate

Black absorbs all. Even our wings got energy, raw
Like coal so we can fly when buses scream:
Only cattle egrets allowed! No room for your wings
Is what they mean. Our wings spread into Iroko branches

We watch wingless warders from outside
Prison walls. Angel Rosa set us free to soar
Above buses mired under the weight of bullets
Labeled with their dreams for us.

We have learnt to dream for ourselves, weave
Our own bullets from kingly dreams