in the lonely republic,

a little white girl puts pink

and red ribbons on her

dark skin barbie, the one

she hides from her mother.

she tells her, she’s beautiful

and puts her back under the bed.

 

the lonely republic,

where the little girl

managed to laugh but

never smile, cry but

never knew pain. she

was a pretty little girl.

but she knew lonely all too well.

 

in the lonely republic,

a little black boy hates

his light skin sisters. the

ones that relax their hair

and wear green contacts.

he tells them,they’ll never

be respected and that ugly

will always be ugly.

 

the lonely republic,

where the little boy

cries out of frustration,

fights out of love but

never wins. he was

a passionate little boy.

but also grew close to lonely .

 

in the lonely republic,

a white woman kisses

her dark skin boyfriend,

the one she hides from her

pale husband. she tells him,

she loves him and pushes

him back into her closet.

 

the lonely republic,

where the woman learns

that mixing colors only makes

mixed babies. a healthy baby

with light skin like her mother

and tangled hair like her father.

where the husband signs the birth

certificate of a child name lonely.

 

in the lonely republic,

a black man hates his

dark skin mother, the one

that blessed him with his rich

color and deprived his sisters,

purchasing perms and blue

colored eyes. he tells her,

she’s beautiful but selfish.

 

the lonely republic,

where the man went insane,

passionate screams of black and

whispers of brown. where his

only baby girl had light skin,

and he himself had become selfish.

where the kinks in her hair intertwine

with his, her wide eyes sparkle as

if she understands why her father

is afraid of lonely.