Look at my face

Look at

This

Face

 

I know her

 

These thin lips

Small eyes

Large cheeks

 

My eyelashes are short

But long enough for their purpose

My eyes are green

To show you where I’m from

My hair is red

Artificial, but not wholly inaccurate

My skin is white.

 

I’m white.

 

Pink is a better way to describe my true color, really

Pink with “warm undertones”

Green veins

Red scars

Silver stretch marks

 

But the undertone of my race is not pink.

My blood runs sour

Tainted by what we’ve done

The DNA I carry with me

DNA used to enslave people

 

To say

“Oh but I didn’t own people”

It’s a lie

 

You did

I did

 

We owned people

People

 

It’s in our DNA.

 

I don’t want to be remembered like this

Owning people

Ruining the world

Stealing your culture to create one that I couldn’t create for myself

Calling it a “mixing pot” because I don’t want to admit it

To you

To myself

 

I can see your anger

Watching while I take everything from you

Your braids

Your lips

Your clothes

 

It’s like watching your rivers dry up because I’m drinking from it

I can almost hear the slurping sounds

But as far as I’m concerned, there’s still water

Am I right?

 

Maybe I’ll leave you the straw

Or make you my next NFL mascot

 

But the idea that I don’t want this is what you should pay attention to

Don’t mind that I refuse to stop

Don’t look twice

Don’t say anything

 

For fear I should catch my shame

 

Or drown in your water