Colour Blind

Forty-nine years ago

your mother birthed you,

enveloped in gold

And after being carried

in your powder-blue stomach,

when I was born

I did not see cerulean,

for you were onyx

My childhood

was filled with your sable remarks

and her warm amber flecks

17 years later,

she died.

And everyday since,

I have been blinded by your ebony feathers

as you tried to brandish my insides with

the same darkness as yours

Now I am 22

and I finally know

It is not my fault

my wings do not hurt,

even when you tie them down

with chains

It is not my fault

I learned to swim,

even after you tried to drown me

in your murky, foul waters

It is not my fault

my crimson blood does not pour out,

even when I am stabbed by the knives

entwined in your fingertips

It is not my fault

you cannot see the glistening

kaleidoscope in my soul

I am not defective,

I am not a burden,

I am not a disgrace

I am irrepressible,

I am resilient,

I am not like you

I am iridescent.