Skin (working title - also work in progress)

You
you’ve been become an expert
telling stories about who I am
reading my skin like tea leaves
you think you know my past
no charge for your services
arguments to no avail
you say
you, you dominican
you guyanese
you indian
you brazilian
Statements
not questions
your conviction
even has me trippin’
believing the fairytales
tales of my skin
see my skin
be telling stories
before my mind begins to think
before my mouth begins to speak
your eyes are sending you messages
too dark to be favorite
too light to know pain
she can’t relate, you say
she speak so well, you say
she got that good hair, you say
forgetting/unknowing
your words like daggers
created gashes in my self-esteem
funny you seem surprised
for someone who’s become an expert
in my skin; a storyteller
telling stories about me and my skin
weaving strongly spun tales
you’ve waged a war on my skin
forcing me to make weapons
out of words
that seem to fall on deaf ears
you think you know me
think you know my history
know who I am
and where I come from
and have the audacity
to not believe me
when I tell you
 who I am