I repeat...when I was...

When I was black, I was not black enough, in clipped tones and high stare.
When I was white, I was not white enough, and too clean for comfort and character.
When I was yellow, I limped - embarassing, and impertinent,
And red was angered at my calm,
though drawn deep from myself, in its Honour.
I am never enough of anything,
except Myself,
Of which, it seems, I am daily chastened for being Too Much of,
Taught to reduce, and reduce, to below its usual
Quiet honesty,
to something approaching
Debased fawning...unattractive, and awkward to me, in its
Meant and Meanness; achieving Nothing, except
Loss.
I had been untowards cruelty, seeking only Outstretch,
And, finding turning,
Looked upwards,
Towards the Winged and
Wandering, as they too,
returned to
Sanity.

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Dawn Nevills reads 7 different selections from her latest poetry/painting collection, "Poems from Butterscotch Cottage". Order the CD, download the MP3 today!

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