My successful cousins' vessels have been gentrified
though they’ve always had blue eyes
so maybe that’s what was bound to happen.
Their tawny skin tone could always be explained
by a well-placed tan or an out of the blue vacation.
The only thing that gives them away is their last names
and their parents hid them behind their firsts.
The language that should be as familiar to them as
worn down shoes
is muddled,
diluted by misplaced vowels and consonants.
And I’m no hypocrite,
my tongue has trouble forming
similar words
yet they’ve never sounded wrong in my mouth.
Jun 2, 2018
Jun 2, 2018 at 3:16 PM UTC
My successful cousins' vessels have been gentrified
though they’ve always had blue eyes
so maybe that’s what was bound to happen.
Their tawny skin tone could always be explained
by a well-placed tan or an out of the blue vacation.
The only thing that gives them away is their last names
and their parents hid them behind their firsts.
The language that should be as familiar to them as
worn down shoes
is muddled,
diluted by misplaced vowels and consonants.
And I’m no hypocrite,
my tongue has trouble forming
similar words
yet they’ve never sounded wrong in my mouth.