Brown Skin

     My bones are covered by brown skin
Brown skin that glistens in the darkness
Not affected by the hotness
This brown skin
Shades me from the sun
In the heat of the day
This brown skin
Marks me as a target
Makes me want to overcome
For my race
Some people call this skin black
But it’s brown, deep chocolate brown
Perhaps with a hint of caramel
This brown skin
Sometimes makes me want to hide
Ashamed, but my pink cheeks never show
Over this brown skin
Under this brown skin is my soul which knows no color
And a heart which is colorless too
I love my brown skin for all its faults
And I hate my brown skin for all its good
I live in this brown skin
And I shall die in this same brown skin
I won’t lighten or darken,
Even when the seasons change.
I’m a girl with a heart, soul, mind,
A life to live, and love inside of me
A girl with a body,
Covered by brown skin.