Identity

half ‘yellow’ and half white,

none ever seemed to fit me right,

was I born wrong? Or at the wrong time?

these are the things that keep me up at night.

my hair is black, my palms are white,

my eyes are brown, my teeth a shade of white,

my skin is gold, and my heart bleed red;

so why do these demons haunt my head?

do I not sleep just like they do?

or have a soul inside me too?

the rich paint me yellow,

while the poor paint me white.

i don’t see myself as any through my inner eye.

been beaten black and blue,

for reasons that still hound me now.

been called colourful names of different hues,

all in which have left me down.

but why should I care,

it doesn’t phase me as much now,

i shave my hair,

every time it gets longer than my brows.

just so people don’t look at me,

pass their judgements onto me.

They see a tattooed man with a bald head,

In their minds registered as a ‘code red’,

‘stay away from me, criminal’, or ‘better watch my property’,

the thoughts so bare minimal,

no thoughts thought out properly.

ah well, guess that’s just the fear of us.

of kids born on the other side of the looking glass,

of kids born without wealth or much,

of kids growing up without a dad or mum.

half ‘yellow’ and half white,

I don’t mind it so much now at night,

I sleep well and I sleep so tight,

knowing that my soul stays the brightest shade of white.