Spent a day with my ex this Christmas season.
Both his hands were now green so I asked,
"what's the reason?"
Was he painting, a project, and they didn't come clean?
His pigment was tinted in a mossy green.
I touched a hand, pulled the skin, gently pinched.
He showed no pain, didn't even flinch.
Could he be turning into the Grinch?
He rolled up one pant leg and revealed a green knee
and said, "well, it's really not bothering me".
Attempting to hide my growing alarm, I said,
"better see your doctor, some thing is wrong."
A few days later he and his Doctor did meet.
It turned out to be dye from new unwashed
green sheets.
Wash away the sins of the father
Release your head from the sand
Try to start again
Or ignore the reaching hand
Who are you to judge over a body? A way of life?
A face growing weary and thin?
Restless, are we still so cold?
Are we a plague to ourselves, made of mildew and mould?
Pigment and porcelain statues refuse to give in
Committing evil against humanity
Fighting a war against prejudice
Over melanin produced in the skin
Find the key others have found before
Let their voices be your guide
Open your mind to the reality of death’s door
To find the ignorance from inside
Refuse to accept anything but truth
And choose to refuse the lies
And move forward into a new world
Where melanin doesn’t depict who lives and who dies
The manicured,
The portrait,
Colours of the week,
Colours I choose,
Decisions to make,
Decisions I make,
The door I open,
The path I see,
The elements I allow.
The manicured,
The portrait,
Colours of the week,
Colours I don’t choose,
Decisions I don’t make,
Decisions that orchestrate themselves,
The door that opens,
Of its will and accord,
Gloom disperses.
The manicured,
The portrait,
Colours I admire,
Colours I'd always want to see,
They don’t always surround,
They don’t always shade my day,
Life gives various colours,
Sombre and flashy,
All lined side by side in the pack.
September 13, 2022.
A BRIAN STRAND Premier Choice Poetry Contest,
Brian Strand.
In early summer
the garden is full of color,
as eyes watch in awe.
18 June 2019 6:03 PM
Am I red with anger
And filled with danger
Or red with embarrasement
From being too passionate
Am I yellow with cowardice
Or sunny filled happiness
Am I blue with sadness
Or just from my shyness
Am I green with disgust and envy
Or just sick of those who are greedy
Am I black with a love grown cold
Or mournful of a fallen soul
Am I white with shock and fright
Or just drab from lack of delight
Am I grey with depression
Or an emotionaless obsession
Am I really an emotional congregation
Or is it all just a pigment of my imagination
why hey plenty of days i got victimized by how dark this skin of mines appears.
but now that i'm older i no longer drop a tear.
those words still taunt me such as "blacky" from my peers
although those hurtful words always grind my gears.
ive learned that melanin takes over showing me there's nothing to fear.
having this dark skin of mines is nothing but beauty and power.
i don't let society overpower my melanin skin making it seem so sour.
i'd never let those words define me into devour.
but instead i rise up like a beautiful flower.
this is a daily challenge that millions of other face each day.
making us seem like some sort of prey.
as of today we will all slay our melanin skin until there's nothing more to say
but as of right now this all stops today.
MY SKIN,
ALL THE PLACES I HAVE BEEN
DADDY WAS A SLAVE
THE SWEAT AND BLOOD HE GAVE
TODAY I AM SURE HE TURNS ON HIS GRAVE
... POVERTY CAME TO MY LIFE LIKE A WAVE
DESTROY'D MY HOME, HOPES
I TIE MY NECK WITH POISON AND COMMON ROPES
IS IT REALLY A CHOICE? DO I HAVE A CHOICE?
WILL YOU LISTEN TO MY VOICE...
OR WILL U SEE MY SKIN
THE WORLD CONTINUES TO SPIN
HATE THE BODY I AM IN
IS BIENG BLACK A SIN
MY SKIN,.. LORD HELP ME, MY SKIN!!!See More
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