Skin
Who decided that our skin was tainted
Anything that isn't light and innocent
Light and free
Is an enemy to purity
The skin is what decides who we are
Even when you try to take on another skin
They still judge based on the one first draped over your bones
When we don't want to be our reputation and our skin
We could wear a costume to be safe for awhile
To be someone else
My skin doesn't matter when the clothes on it make me someone new
Someone clean of humanity
Someone known
Someone loved
Or so we thought til they saw through a boy's costume
They didn't see him through the costume, though
They saw his skin
They didn't see a friend
They saw something dark
They hated his skin
In spite of the character over it
And the human inside it
And they stabbed him in the back with his own sword
Through the layers
Costume
Skin
Human
We resort to acting and hiding and parading in costumes to feel safe
But we're learning that hate doesn't see the surface
Nor what's underneath
Hate only sees skin