be nobody's darling, says alice

BE NOBODY'S DARLING
Alice Walker, Anything We Love Can Be Saved

Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Take the contradictions
Of your life
And wrap around
You like a shawl,
To parry stones
To keep you warm.

Watch the people succumb
To madness
With ample cheer
Let them look askance at you
And askance you reply.

Be an outcast;
be pleased to walk alone
(Uncool)
Or line the crowded
Riverbeds
With other impetuous
Fools.

Make a merry gathering
On the bank
Where thousands perished
For brave hurt words
They said.

But
Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Qualified to live
Among your dead.