They told me that I was the product of hundreds of years of pain and suffering,That from the blood of my ancestors, I was given Eyes the color of mud,Hair like a sheep,The complexion of an ape,An inherent lust,A body that should be covered,A culture that is disgraceful,A religion that should be converted,And a country that wishes to forgive and forget and may never acknowledge my worth,And for a while, I truly believed them.But wait... don't I know who I am? Yes, I AM the product of hundreds of years of pain and suffering, but I AM also the product of billions of years of loveFrom the blood of my ancestors I was givenEyes that were carved from the bodice of Mother Earth herself,Hair inspired by the conversing of waves, Skin that not only rhymes with the black night, but also dances with the unmolested earth,A body that is mine and mine alone,A culture that screams with rhythm, flavor and love,A religion that worships the sun and moon like familyAnd a country that I am grateful to have been born in, but still has a long way to go. Am I any less human because whichever god created me decided to take inspiration from the black of the night and brown of the earth rather than the white of snow?