UNHEALTHY EBONY

My skin is kissed by the sun to make me glow,

My eyes are adjustable to the light,

My feet have walked thousands of steps on hard, dusty ground,

My hands have touched the natural all of it’s living days,

Have you seen me yourself, truly seen me?

Have you heard my voice on your ears?

Have you touched my body to feel an electric current?

Have you felt my energy and how it is similar to yours?

You who judge me without knowing me,

You who cut me down with your uneducated words,

You who never took the time to learn that we are similar,

You who did not bother to bother for an explanation.

Yes we did not grow the same,

Yes we have different colors,

Yes we have opposing beliefs,

Yes we are worlds apart,

But don’t we look the same?

But don’t we dance similar?

But don’t we react alike?

But don’t we have identical histories?

I look down on you, you look down on me

I have been torn, you have been ripped

I suffer from years of pain, you suffer from years of hurt

I have been damaged and raped, you have been vandalized and discolored

Why can’t we find each other?

Why can’t we love the pain away?

Why can’t we come to an understanding with each other?

Why can’t we use our senses and meet on the same plane?

Why can’t we be brothers and sisters again?

ARLETTE ALEXIS USA