Ralph Ellison Is My Father

Ralph Ellison is my Father, For I am Invisible, I am real, And I tire of people telling me different, I am very real, And yet Invisible, I am the frailty of a man who is not allowed to feel, For I am an appendage of other people's feelings, I am a mirror for their beauty and as long as I show them a pretty reflection, They love me, But when I open up to show them a tired, pain ridden child, They see past him, to their own wants and needs and emotional greed, Even their queries as to my welfare, are self serving litmus tests for their own grandiosity, Ralph Ellison is my father, And I am invisible. Amen.