I Am You



His skin was soft as he shook my hand

And said ?Thank you?

Thank me for putting myself in shoes that don?t fit.

He was wrong.

They fit fine.



I am not who people think I am.



I am you.

I am black and red

Yellow and white.

I am male and female.

I am straight and gay

I am the stars, the earth

Wind and moon

Above all else

I am human,

I am you.



The world has pulled clouds over our eyes,

Only allowing the mind to view colours,

And vow intolerance

Ignoring the man dripping in the street,

The word ?fag? polished red on his forehead.



Blindness improves listening

So they heard him.

Heard his cries shaking as he called

?Help me! Please! Someone, help me!?

But all they see is darkness, never wanting

To break through the clouds.



I am you.

Injustice drains my eyes as

My hands strain to grip an invisible sword

Meant to stop the words of torment.

I feel, like you, a part of my soul

Die as every punch hits its mark.

As every word spits lies,

Quoting passages from a book.





Do you see the black woman writing with a passion that cannot be contained?

Or the Persian man listening to music, embodying the beat?

See the white child reading, discrete, high in the branches of a shaded tree?



Don?t.



See the woman, the man, and child,

And content of character.



A story not on the news tonight,

And many similar to it,

Never in the spotlight.





They grilled into her darker flesh with baseball bats

And fists.

With skill.

Smiling as they went along

Playing a game.

And their perfect skins change to scarlet.



Abomination of skin colour

Cannot be fixed by only death.

So they strip her of the shamed surface.

Burning her alive to purge her sins,

And they are heroes,

Doing their god a favour.



My mind screams

No!

No!

No!

This is wrong

The world is wrong.



Look at me!

What am I?

White?



I am the one holding the light

To break through the clouds.

So you can chant with loud, unbroken

Voices to fix this world

Where sight is renewed.



All of you, see

Because you are me.

03/04/2006