The Essence of Me
You look in the mirror, One is not lovable That notion is only catered to some people and lives are put at stake just to claim that label As I see the reflection, Brown skin, Slightly wide-eyed and the matte Blue lipstick The more I put on, the more I seem white No one can pin point what you are Because the brown skin does not correlate with the aesthetic As I move through the world like tetras, bending every facet of myself to fit in The ones who accept me see me as desirable only when I look like everyone on RuPaul’s Drag Race Dear Straight people, That is not how trans people look like People like me struggle to get out of bed, if people like me to have one So buckle up on this cluster fuck ride that is myself Through the hyper femininity and the barebones To embracing my Nubian ancestors as we set conquest on reclaiming our brownness as Colonization took it away from us