Do You Hear Me Now Black Male Vulnerability Don Cornelius Soul Train

40 Years, No Acres and I’m the Mule

By Sugar Johnson

It’s the tale of inferiors and superiors

deadlines

spreadsheets

and well articulated phone greetings

the sound of footsteps sashaying to the next meeting

ass kissers invading personal space

***

lunch time

one hour

set your watch

your being watched

monitored

praying for vacation time

or just some time to clean the basement

plant some tomatoes

take a long shower

***

pushing for that raise

hell even a promotion

politics

politricks

gotta do better than that

’cause Molly licks

tapered haircuts

and starched shirts

cuffed trousers

***

401K contributions

allocation

and health insurance needs

invest in your future

make money til your back hurts

or you’re fed up with your commute

which ever comes first

***

40 years

10400 days

minus Christmas and Thanksgiving

dreams spread thin

like the cobwebs

stuck to the guitar

I always told myself I’d learn to play

Between catching the uptown train to conduct “we luv the kids” writing workshops to dancing rumba on the lower eastside, Sugar Johnson flaunts his creative freedom in various mediums. The actor, vocalist, and educator have not only shared the stage with prolific artists such as The Last Poets, M-1 of Dead Prez, Jessica Care Moore, and Spike Lee, but he also labors to cultivate the forgotten souls of Rikers Island. Johnson made his film debut in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. The ASCAP member holds a B.A. in Mathematics from DePauw University and will release the poetry collection Food Clothes and Shelter on his imprint Home Grown Publishing, LLC in 2008.

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