Who am I?
I must be black because my absent father won’t come back.
I am eccentric. I am authentic.
I am something you would never forget to mention.
I am a Black woman.

Who do you want me to be?
I must be Asian because with eyes like these I can solve any equation.
I am intelligent. I am pure elegance.
I am delicate.
I am an Asian woman.

Who do you think I am?
I must be Hispanic because my last name simply states it.
I am diligent. I am militant.
I am an immigrant.
I am a Hispanic woman.

Who should I be?
I may be white by culture, but not by sight.
I am privileged. I am a perfect image.
I have no limits.
I am a White woman.

On paper, the box I checked says Asian,
But sometimes I forget.
What if my race isn't solo, or singular?
It’s a duet—or even a quartet.
My race is tricolor—sometimes invisible.
My race isn't inside, and no, it's not physical.

What if my race is the rushing water of the Mississippi river?
The river just flows and flows—
Runs wherever it may go,
But some are quiet as they trickle in;
Drop by drop a new river begins,
As the water mixes, roaring free.
If you want to label my race, fine, label me.
Label my hair, my customs, or my speech.
Race is just a rumor that mankind decided to teach.

I wish I could forget that I have a race,
That the color is still staining my face.
I'm tired of the separation,
The segregation, the humiliation,
The exhaustion of having a race.
Why label the color on my skin?
Why not embrace the person that I hold within?


*R.A.C.E. stands for Reclassify All Children Equally.

11:09
The ticking of time, frozen in such a silent space.
I find myself listening to a chime, but yet,
Second to the focus surrounding my pain.

Rain
The pounding of water, drowning all that it sees.
Though the picture I see, hung with purpose, but yet,
Ever changing is the vista on its frame.

Thoughts
Wandering and chaotic, fleeting and yet never ending.
I see this tree, alone in my frame and in this vista Im lost, but yet,
Sensing my way through a cloud of frustration.

Fear
Less as time travels on, suppressed into a soul shaped from its scar.
I think that now I can reclassify it as ignorance, but yet,
It remains as that which I cannot take away.

Obstacles
Ungrounded at five, to be soon grounded again for life.
I begin to construct a reason in my mind, but yet,
There they all are set to remain, to be conquered or left unchanged.

Purpose
Stubbornness unfurled, its change that must be made,
Though they walk right by, me, a mere tree in a frame, but yet,
The growth is there to be observed.

11:10
The metaphor grows a bit thin.
In coming back to the moment I remember that there is work left to do, but yet,
I will not be making a phone call today.

A state of constant crisis breaks a population’s will subtly
Disguise the stick as carrot, slight of hand, and divide a family
Two week’s wait for a Doctor’s appointment, then reduced aftercare
Reclassify the frail and disabled, let them crawl up the stair

When did we begin to learn to live with this?
Constant erosion of community
When did we begin to learn to live with this?
Self serving irresponsibility

Architectural vandalism, tax donation, and PPE scams
Our essential services’ heedlessly squandered into, private hands
Capitalism, untethered, unrestrained, propelled by gluttonous greed
Divide and conquer the mass, ghettoise, by gender, colour or creed

When did we begin to learn to live with this?
Zero hours’ as a working week
When did we begin to learn to live with this?
I’m alright Jack, and a callous streak

Get up, and get out from under
Get up, and get out from under

Pre-pubescent’s in gang’s, armed with knives, who can barely write or read
Betrayed by cuts and shifting targets, education as commodity
Examples of moral and social discipline, are scarce, or weakly implied
Meanwhile my local chip shop’s open longer hour’s than my local pigsty

When did we begin to learn to live with this?
Youth on youth stabbings’ newspaper front page
When did we begin to learn to live with this?
Volunteer labour and minimum wage

Get up, and get out from under
Get up, and get out from under
Get up, and get out from under
GET UP AND GET OUT FROM UNDER