Middle Finger Up

Author: Caleb David Duku

This middle finger flies up,

For all the times I was told santa was real,

For when I was told crack was snow that lacked appeal,

For all the times a nude scene was on

And I was told – Cover your eyes!

You can’t look till you’re grown.

For the many times I was told don’t play in the dirt,

Tie your shoe strings and button up your shirt.

For the times I was scolded for my hand in the pot,

I clearly remember the phrase –

“Robbers do get shot!!”

For the brief moment in history

When I was told to be a man,

Not to cry but to fight back,

Is that a plan?

For the times when I wanted a fro,

And I was cropped of bald,

Like the itsy bitsy spider

My hair came down.

This middle finger is dedicated to life,

To all that it teaches us,

Through pain and through strife,

The fun times and the sad,

This finger is not a diss,

Its my simple way to reminisce,

That life could have fucked me,

But it hasn’t,

So I put four fingers down,

And one stays standing,

The one in the middle.