Color
They look at my color before they look at me
They reach a conclusion
Before they reach me
They see my tan
And make assumptions of my person
They see my dark skin
And scream slurs
To cause my blood to boil
But I don't stir
Or cry
I smile
They don't know the greatness locked into my background
From far away they don't get to see who I am
All they see is what they believe is true
That you are not worth it
But that's not true
I grew up being called every slur
Treated like a problem
Because my skin color didn't match
The color they wanted to use to paint
Their perfect world
But forget their ideas of perfection
From right here
Any mirror will confirm
I am not
ugly
a mistake
inferior
dumb
or simple
My color
My Heritage
My Background is
Beautiful