Who Am I?
Black and white, difference justified by the words being different
A boy with tanner tone looks in amazement
A white boy invites to play
“Come play with me on the swings,” he says
The wide-eyed colored boy doesn’t even hesitate
Friendship
Not bound by limits
Limits of color
Not defined
Defined by color
Brotherhood
Born for adversity
And in a time of trouble a brother will be by one’s side
Night draws on the sun to fall asleep
A blanket covers the earth
The boy blessed with chocolate skin kneels in prayer
Hands folded, eyes closed, deep in divine thought
“God, you are all I have
Nothing is worth more to me than you alone
I struggle, yet You still catch me
Bless my friend, love abounds, never dies
Amen”
Sunrise, another day another breath
The two planned to meet at the same place as before
The swingset
As the black boy rushes to meet his friend
Hope that is in his eyes like a fire
Dies simultaneously as he catches a glimpse of a man
Standing where the other boy should have been
“Mister, have you seen a small white boy my age?”
The man looks down
Hatred spits forth from his eyes
Then everything turns black as Night’s cloak
…..
I lie in a pit of darkness
Nothing can help me now
What have I done wrong in offering love to a brother
A brother in Christ was how I always saw him
The little white boy, I'll never forget
Friendship
Not bound by limits
Limits of color
Not defined
Defined by color
Brotherhood
Born for adversity
And in a time of trouble a brother will be by one’s side
God
What have I done wrong to deserve this
All I did was follow in Your footsteps
You taught me to walk with heart
head bent lowly to show humbleness
You are like my father
One that I haven’t seen for years
Beaten to death before my very eyes
What did he do to deserve that sort of treatment
Who gets to decide that pain
That sort of pain
Is justifiable to exerting hatred
Tears shed
Life goes on
Was it worth all the pain and suffering
My life
Isn’t worth
Anything
Black
&
White
I don’t understand
Both have the same amount of letters
Same amount of syllables
Spelled differently
But is that why we are beaten and trampled underfoot
God, return to me what I have lost
For You are ever merciful
And do not lead me into temptation
But deliver me from the Evil one
…
Years fly by
Sky changes its’ covers
Less clouds, more blue than fluff
I lay in wait
Darkness surrounds
White speckled beings are standing over me
Words of slur-filled-hatred escapes their pink lips
Nothing has changed
I’m still here, on the ground where I was once before
God
Save me
Free me from oppression
The skies start to clear up
The clouds part and make way for His Majesty
The beings disintegrate in my imagination
He offers his hand
I take it
I look up to catch something familiar
It’s him
Memories rush from the back of my mind
As if they were in a cage
Locked up, but now free
Friendship
Not bound by limits
Limits of color
Not defined
Defined by color
Brotherhood
Born for adversity
And in a time of trouble a brother will be by one’s side
“It’s You”
...
The years fly back in time
I’m at the swingset
I see the white boy playing by himself
He walks up to me
“Come play with me on the swings,” he says
Tears fill my eyes
I rush forward
Hug the milk-white boy
With a bone-crushing force
He hugs back
“It has been you all along hasn’t it?”
The whisper I doubt reached his ears
A whisper only made to suffice for the loss of words
The white boy leans back
Smiles
Pearly whites
A wink
And he disappears
I fall to my knees, hands folded, head bent in prayer
Thank You
The little white boy, I'll never forget
Forget his friendship
His love
His smile
His Pearly whites
His wink
...
Friendship