My Hero Used to be Samson
by Sabrina Dawkins
My hero wore a red and black letter jacket
and Samson’s cut dreadlocks and sunglasses
to hide gouged-out eyes.
He was a popular, cute varsity player.
My hero has mixed kids:
He preferred a white
or mixed woman in public
after sneaking black girls
to back seats late at night
like a slave master.
My hero eats out.
He doesn’t know how to grow crops.
The TV didn’t teach him how,
and NBA players told him to buy soda.
My hero died when I stopped watching TV,
where thugs became movie stars
and athletes lead the black community.