oh my old foe
i have known you for a long time.
memories of you span more than half my lifetime
and goes beyond the existence of my grandparents and great grandparents.
you are an old adversary lying in wait.
a wall between me and my fellow citizens,
always keeping me on my defence.
you make me a foreigner in my own country
where disbelieving citizens welcome me with open arms
because they think I bring tourism dollars.
you rear your sinister head every time i return
and make me wonder if this is why i left.
you make me need to defend my existence
as fellow citizens look at my skin and deem me inferior.
leaving bitter tastes in their mouths;
some not even knowing why my very presence makes them feel this way.
you make me wonder if there is a better life elsewhere.
you sit on my shoulder - ever present
constantly putting me in conflict
with those i know, those i love and those who know nothing about me.
placing me at once above and below,
othered amongst equals who are blinded by shades of grey
a legacy rooted deep in hearts and minds.
my old foe, inherited like gene
your name rests on my tongue unawares
like the ghost of whisper,
a secret most don’t even know they have
how you want me to bow and bend
under the weight of a divided nation.
well i promise you, redemption is at hand;
because the present-future of our melting pot of nations has other ideas...
