Poem: “MY SKIN”

Majestique Skeens

Editor’s Note: This poem was written by Majestique Skeens, a 15-year-old young lady from Denver, Colorado, whose grandmother was one of the speakers at the recent Peace Road event, “Hearing the Hearts of our Brothers and Sisters of Color”, in Grand Junction on August 14th. While Ms. Skeens was not able to attend the program herself, her poem was read out loud at the event by a young man, Joseph Darden.

 As an African American, the author expresses her pain and the pain of her ancestors, and it is only in acknowledging these feelings and accepting them, that we are able to move beyond them as a nation and have hope for a better tomorrow.

    
      I'm tired of wearing a mask to be acceptable in your eyes,
          cause if you don't see my skin you don't see me.   
      Why do you hate the color of my skin?  Is it because she was bold   
      enough to speak her mind; 
          or maybe because he had a dream, to..us.. free!
     Or possibly because they stood as one when all of us were shunned.

       Why do you hate the color of my skin?
      Is it because no matter how many times you beat us, we got back
      up
      Or, maybe it's because our Mothers’, Mothers’, Mothers were
      mothers to your children.
      Or possibly it's because our ancestors got up every day with a
       joyful noise to work in the fields working their fingers to the bone;
      and at the end of the day still went to bed happy because they...
      had...each...other.

        Why do you hate the color of my skin;  is the question I have
       every day;
       But still don't have an answer for, cause you're too good for
       me, right?
       So don't talk about discrimination...when you're the reason that
       our nation is hatin'.