You ‘Don’t See Color’
Lie to me
A free verse poem:
You “don’t see color ”— or so you say.
Look at me and tell me you don’t see my color.
Tell me you don’t see the curve of my lips, the gaping of my nostrils, the brown of my eye.
Tell me you think I look like you.
Lie to me.
Sometimes the lies are easier to swallow than the truth.
We are different.
That difference is the reason why my brothers and sisters are so often violated by those who are supposed to protect them.
That difference is the reason I can’t show up to a job interview with my Afro.
That difference is the reason my ancestors labored, fought, and revolutionized so that I can be where I am and you can be where you are.
Tell me you don’t see my color.
Lie to me.
Blot out my history. Blot out my ancestors’ history.
Pretend it never happened.
Does that appease you? It doesn’t appease me.
Don’t lie to me.
We are not the same.
You see the color of my skin, the boldness of my nose, the protruding of my lips, the sway of my hips, the coils in my hair, the darkness of my eye.
You are not blind.
You see it. Admit it.
Last edited: 12/11/20 “brothers” was changed to “brothers and sisters” thanks to a suggestion from Nathan Foolchand
