Living In This Skin

Being born to never think about my race,

society and people have caused me to change.

I now look back with sadness and pain,

recalling my ancestors shackled in chains.

Never a day did they give up hope,

with intolerance and hate, they had to cope.

The belief that all men were created equal,

free to live and love, as he or she desired.

Each day they fought to preserve this goal,

suffering dire atrocities beyond all scope.

Certainly skin colour is never the same,

from tanned, to dark and even pale.

Yet underneath when you explore the midst,

you see organs, a heart, nothing more exists.

Personalities can become obscured or hidden,

as life makes you indifferent, even guilt ridden.

In some the layers become poisoned from the core,

by selfishness, greed, and wanting more.

My skin gives me ‘colour’ to face the world,

a mask to cope whatever circumstance is hurled.

This shield and armour to protect,

proudly makes me stand out from the rest.