Pretty as a Bullseye

National Poetry Month: Day #27

Photo by Dylann Hendricks | 딜란 on Unsplash

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"White people presumably had no objection to killing beautiful people."
- Toni Morrison


I once read that being desired is not the same as being valued.

So what do you say to the child whose skin swallowed too much night? 

"Dirty."

Whose nose inhaled too much life?

"Unflattering."

Whose lips punctuated plenty a plosive?

 "Tempting."

A child navigatin' noose and neglect.

They think that if curses make them bad, then compliments make 'em good.

So they grovel on scarred, ashen knees,

Lurching towards Mecca. 

Lips parting for a drop of adornment,

Praise that'll undo lifetimes of bondage. 

But alabaster is a selfish color,

Constantly refracting its own light,

Flattening ROYGBIV's resplendency.

Offer that child a spine to support that crown,

Rather than a complexion that burns. 

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softly,

dev<3

Saint Trey Wooden