random facts about me:
I know how to pray, greet,
and introduce myself
in three different languages because around here
that is all you need to do
I can code switch too
because around here
that is all you need to survive
Papa made sure
that before he passed I understood the words qunbula, hujum, almawt just as easily as I did
salaa, yahmi, hubun
Mamaíta made sure
I understood the words mayate
y pelo malo
That all skin folk are not kin folk
and some folk will skin you alive
to keep themselves warm
I have heard “You don’t look white”
about as many times as I’ve heard
“say something in Arabic/Spanish”
So I suppose this time
the slave won
After my father died
I become the 12th in line
to inherit the Massey Plantation
so maybe the slave master
won after all
I wonder how my existence
would differ
if I could recall
sitting in the belly of the beast
or the balls
of feet indented on the ground
giving pound and I did not know
I was supposed to be running
Give penny for thoughts aloft
and I am well aware
that I am dreaming
how else could you explain all this
Woo Ji-ho has black soul
Kimberly Kardashian West
has black hair
and Cameron-James Wilson
may not put on his black face
but damn if he doesn’t
make a black woman look good
And I still have to explain my black
as if it isn’t all consuming of color
So please frain
from picking out the good fruit
and leaving the strange bits
left on the tree
-pero
