Caramel skin with an undertone of olive
Glowing in the fluorescent light
I stare at myself in the mirror
Inspecting my penetrating eyes and button nose
Soon my vision blurs
I see someone else
A face
Darker than my own
Like asphalt on the playground
Or the skin of my grandmother
Scars carve deep valleys within her flesh
Black canyons shaped by the constant roaring of tears
A reminder of the past
The chains of bondage weigh upon my ankles
Dragging me down to the ship
The stench of putrid human waste
I am suffocated by the pain of my ancestors
My soul yearns for an escape
From the despair
To discover there is none
The glass breaks and I come crashing back
Into reality
I breathe in the solace
Recognizing my existence
In the present.