How’d I know the Statute of Liberty is a black woman?
Easy, my friend: she’s seen too much but hasn’t closed her eyes.
And hasn’t she held that torch aloft too long already?
She cares too much to put it down.
Easy, my friend. She’s seen too much but hasn’t closed her eyes,
even though she carries the weight of the nation
(she cares too much to put it down
and she knows what might happen if she did).
Even though she carries the weight of the nation,
she could climb down from that scaffold any time,
and she knows what might happen if she did:
the fire next time could leap from her hand.
She could climb down from that scaffold any time.
How’d I know the Statute of Liberty is a black woman?
The fire next time could leap from her hand,
and hasn’t she held that torch aloft too long already?