POETRY

Whiteness

A Poem

Photo from Ryunosuke Kikuno

O what a privilege

To walk through life

Unaware of the violence

Our skin carries

Concentration camps

Killer cops

Genocide

Death

One phone call away

Our fear is a weapon

Our presence loads the gun

Our words pull the trigger

Our history built upon bodies that don’t look like ours

So what do I do?

The mirror is here

Do I look?

…or refuse the reflection of my ancestors

Whiteness staring back

Hollow eyes

Rage embracing the confines

Blood soaked past

I see you

I feel you

I hear you

I recognize you

I have a choice

You do not define me

Suffocate mother fucker

I choose humanity