All Colored Girl

It's said that color is

the result of light’s reflection

Simply stated

Color is perception

They say “person of color”

I say, What else could anyone be?

Bathed in the light of our surroundings

Bound to reflect what we see

Depending on who’s looking

What color would you call me?

What would you perceive?

My Father

He’d call me blue

Serene, calming,

a peace of his own heart

A spitting imagine

His soul in two

My mother

She’d call me red

Passion, her pride

her little valentine

But came two weeks early

Her little Aquarius instead

My sisters

They’d call me yellow

A friend, an intellectual

Sometimes warm and inviting

Others annoying, too bright

Needing to mellow

My lover

Would call me violet

His future, trustworthy

Draped in devotion

Descendent of royalty

No denying it

My children

I hope they will call me green

Nurturing, tranquil

I pray I bring them hope

Ooze steady strength

the greatest love they’ve seen

Myself

I’d call me indigo

Intense, contemplative

Trying my damnedest

To walk in fairness

A line I must tip toe

The world

It calls me black

I won’t pretend to know why

Not prone to making things up

I can only imagine

What meanings that color packs

In reality

I show up brown

The colors of my loved ones

Reflecting off my skin

Whipped into a perfect blend

Bouncing back into the world

Proudly I stand

The all colored girl