Black or Black-ish?

They call me black
but the leathery coat of my flesh
is a marriage of hazelnut brown
and holy good-natured resilience,
my teeth is a bodily incarnate of the clouds
and my tongue is blood-red fire.

They call me monkey,
so I guess the mirror lies
when it speaks of my beauty
and perhaps my tail
is a shy wench that hides
between my buttocks.

They call me submissive
but was it not just yesterday
that Senghor and little Martin fought
for my dignity on the battlefield of history?

I told them, in the days of my youth,
Not black!
Maybe coloured, dark brown
or even black-ish but certainly not black!

They paint me the colour of death,
the unrepentant hue of perdition,
but the tongue of the baptism water did not blacken
when it swallowed my Gentile being.

I begged them, in the days of my youth,
Not black!
Maybe coloured, dark brown
or even black-ish but certainly not black!

But now,
I have eaten the apple of wisdom
and my eyes have been yanked open
through solemn romance
with tutored ponderance.

I will take it,
yes, call me black if you wish,
but mind you,
I am a lion
whose fiery vigour cannot be tamed,
I am a hound
whose wild heart cannot be chained,
before your colour-sensitive eyes,
I shall turn black to gold
and I shall crucify the word,
drill nails into its chest till it bleeds out life
and is born anew,
wearing the garment of glory.

So, please
Call me black
Not coloured, dark-brown
Or even black-ish, certainly black!

Reviews

[Tazeen Ahmed]

God made us all equally important! There are times when people face discrimination and stereotyping... I believe some way we need to throw it out -the black thing, the monkey thing...
People have views but criticism is too bad!
I like your style of writing, simple and innocent..
Your messages are strong enough to melt every heart!!