& even the black guy’s profile reads 'sorry, no black guys'

The poem opens with the directive to “imagine a tulip” (Line 1) that is so ashamed of itself that it would intentionally lose its petals and hope for its pollen to only be used for other flowers, not tulips. This striking image is tragically romantic: flowers like tulips and roses are often used to indicate affection and love, yet in this scene Smith twists their meaning to reflect the self-loathing of the subject of the poem, the “black guy” (Title) whose profile is being examined.

Smith repeats the instruction to “imagine” (Line 2), yet this time tasks the reader with seeing “shadows longing for a room with light” (Line 3). In this more clearly juxtaposed image, the subject’s self-hatred is compared to shadows and light. The poet uses specific words that are often coded to reflect racist beliefs in the larger society; here, Smith’s reference to “shadows” (Line 3) could be understood as an intentional critique of the ways that Black people are often considered in negative ways. A shadow, here representing the dark body of the black man, longs for light (or acceptance in white culture), but this desire leads to his own destruction. His own internalized racism seeks his own effacement.

The two demands to “imagine” (Lines 1, 2) almost seem disembodied from the content first introduced by the title, which is a reference to racism in online dating profiles. Smith may have chosen to open the poem in this way to draw the reader into a more sympathetic mindset: both the image of the tulip shedding “its petals in disgust” (Line 1) and the “shadows longing” (Line 2) are softer than the direct criticism implied in the titular image. The use of a directive stance–“imagine”–helps also position the reader as being invited into the experience that the narrator is describing. In an interview with Lauren K. Alleyne in 2017, Smith describes their intentions regarding audience, asking, “If I have your attention, what am I going to do with it?” (See: Further Literary Resources) As a queer Black author, Smith understands that a range of readers will access their poetry; “& even the black guy’s profile” is a poem that explicitly invites in those readers who might not have considered the ways internalized racism bleeds into the Black queer experience.

The poem takes a turn after the two “imagine” (Lines 1, 2) statements, shifting to the second person and addressing the subject of the poem, the “black guy” (Title) whose profile “reads ‘sorry, no black guys’” (Title). In the statement that marks the turn, Smith explains their metaphor: “you look in the mirror & see a man you refuse to love” (Line 3). The use of the ampersand, or “&”, helps Smith clearly mark the juxtaposition they are centering in the poem. The person looking in the mirror is the “tulip” (Line 1) and the “shadows” (Line 2); the person’s internalized hatred of themselves is symbolized by the shedding “petals” (Line 1) and the longing for “light in every direction” (Line 2), both forms of self-destruction. Smith is calling attention to the ways that internalized racism and homophobia cause gay Black men to search for a white ideal and “light” (Line 2), rather than appreciate their own beauty.

The longest sentence of the poem is the concluding statement, which again addresses the subject’s desire to be white, and then shifts to describe the narrator’s own self. Smith places more explicit imagery in this line, describing the subject as a “small child sleeping / near Clorox, dreaming of soap suds & milk” (Lines 3-4). As in the previous use of “imagine” (Line 2), Smith’s verbiage in this line–“dreaming” (Line 4)–helps maintain the narrator’s gentle attitude towards the subject. Additionally, by referring to the subject’s childhood, Smith insists that the reader understand this person’s self-hatred as a manifestation of ongoing systemic racism–the self-hatred is rooted in childhood. In other words, Smith’s poem is not intended as a derisive monologue against this Black man, it is a gentle admonition and invitation to adjust one’s perception of Blackness in a world where whiteness is valued more significantly. This tone is enhanced by the length of the line, which builds upon itself using “&” (Line 5) to become less jarring and more narrative.

In a stream of adjectives, Smith asserts the value of the subject’s Blackness: stating, “you are a beautiful & lovable & black & enough” (Line 5). After this, for the first time in the poem, Smith’s narrator also describes their own perspective using first person, explaining to the subject, “& so–you pretty you–am i” (Line 5). The text included between the dashes, “you pretty you,” is a mirrored three-word-phrase that emphasizes the narrator’s encouraging attitude towards the subject. The concluding two words that follow add the narrator’s own sense of their Blackness as making them “beautiful & / lovable” (Lines 4-5).

Over the course of this prose poem, Smith marks several key turns as they invite both subject, audience, and narrative self into a conversation about internalized racism in the Black gay community. The intentional demarcations of change in perspective–from disembodied third person to direct addressing of “you” (Line 3) to a final call from the narrator’s own self–help control a tightly woven narrative that takes place over the course of only four sentences (and a fifth embedded in the title). By weaving natural imagery throughout the poem, Smith tangles with a complex subject, which is established bluntly in the title, without losing the reader to critique or disinterest.