My insecurities cannot be concealed 

in black and white.

My fears cannot be masked by sepia, 

and well, I'll be damned to hell

if I let my sadness hide behind Kelvin, 

Walden or Hefe.

My fingers are disheveled from

hours of pounding away on heavy typewriter keys,

and my eyes are blackened and worn

like mourning dresses,

yet I choose to stare back into the mirror, still.

This heavy head of brown hair 

sits sixty six inches off the ground,

and it holds inside itself dreams 

Valencia, Amaro, or Brannan could never improve. 

I am not some black and white image

cropped, cut, and calculated to perfection.

If beauty werent created on a screen and force-fed down

our throats then maybe

people would feel safe without hiding behind their filters.

I used to be afraid too.

I used to be afraid of the thoughts in my head.

But now I know that my emotions are what makes me.

I am a canvas, and I may paint over myself a million times,

but the past will always remain. And the next layer will always be possible.

I am not black and white.

I am not Sepia.

I am not Rise,

or Mayfair,

or Earlybird.

I am me,

and that's the filter I choose

every single time.