about my roots.

I am ..

South african to say the least

when they look at me and ask

where im from,

and maybe judge

from the accent I speak,

when they look at me.

To be born in such a country blows my mind,

sometimes

to be alive

from a space

of diversity, language and my time,

a time when black and white couldn"t be seen together,

what an outrage,

now i feel and i say

it was before my time,

Mandela saved us

I don't think it's a lie.

I have roots that run deep

from Southern India

where Tamil is the language they speak,

at least,

that's what my grandparents spoke

before they got old

and told me about their times, their age, their experience,

which is hard to imagine sometimes

so storytelling helps me to invite

myself into a world ive never known,

but sometimes feel ive known

through my blood and eyes

and everything that lies

in between that i have yet to discover

about

my roots.

I grew up with kids who didnt look like me,

yet I've never felt more welcomed

I treated everyone the same,

and I'm grateful for what I've gained,

from a country that speaks 11 tongues

english is one

that ive spoke,

which is a surprise to most

when I say thats the home

langauge I know.

When they see my skin colour,

they expect another

langauge to roll of my tongue

which is sometimes so dumb

but i have to pause,

not everyone has the same thought

not to judge, not to discriminate,

and hate

because someone's skin colour is different

than what you might be used to

so I'm in a poweful position to explain,

so they understand

my home land

and to not land

on a judgement

that isn't true,

To who i am

As a south african..