i wake up in the morning

pstrongBy Drek/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/357/photo_1_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Drek/p pI wake up in the morning as I run my fingersbr / br /through my nappy hair, I remember the awkward glancebr / that thebr / br /guy behind the counter gave me./p pI open my eyes to another day where my being will be scrutinized./p pas I lace my Timbos and slide on my baggy jeans,br / br /I grab my walkman portfolio and I head off to work.br / br /I think about mybr / appearance as I listen to THE ROOTSbr / br /on the bus ride, and by the time "You Got Me” comes thru,br / br /I've forgotten the awkward glances. /p pI say “what's up” to my coworkers I head upstairs br /and I study my hands as the lady clutches her purse.br / /pPMy menacing Brown hands/p p. while I don't know what she's thinking,br / br /I can't help but wonder what the guysbr / br /that shadow me when I'm br /in storesbr / br /downtown think./p pI wonder how my relatives were seenbr / br /before they fell victim at Moore's Ford.br / br /I wonder if they felt the need to validatebr / br /their humanity or intelligence./p pby the time I Step Into the Realm comes on,br / br /I could care less what people thinkbr / br /about my skin, hair, or dress I begin constructingbr / br /my own definition of Drek./p pI paint with the shades of my fore bearersbr / br / rest my brush on a palette of colors visiblebr / br /to all./p pand I frame this image in raw truth /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p