Poem
Color Is The Name They Gave Me
I fall, I rise, I stand
I was born with a name, but Color is the name that they gave me.
Color is the name they gave me,
but not the one I answer to.
I answer to the weight of my own worth,
the truth of my own steps,
the power of my own becoming.
I am more than what you see,
I am what I rise to be.
My Color is history,
Yes-
But it is also a memory
The battle that had to be fought with fire
As my ancestor fights alongside me.
You can hear the heartache through the rumble.
Who walked through the storms that were louder than an earthquake
with their heads unbowed.
Changed leg to leg. arm to arm. neck to neck
The abuse and neglect with no regret.
Color was the name they gave me
while pigment became Imprisonment
Not brown
Not cream
Not tan
Not light-skinned
But BLAK
Niggar
Negra
As if we were the Color of the bottom of their shoes.
While letting the Color of my skin be the reason their
eyes define me.
So, Color was the name they gave me.
Spitting at me with their foul mouths
I knew the devel was near.
Boy, they just thought I was something to fear
before I ever opened my mouth.
They decided who I was at a glance.
With lazy minds, lazy eyes, lazy lies.
Too quick to judge, slow to learn.
They would build stories off my Color,
before they took the time to learn.
But you have had your time with my Color,
for way too long.
I come back with vengeance, for I am strong
They say if you stand for anything, you shall fall
for it all.
So I break this cycle of manipulation
the one y'all would call hesitation.
I rise to my reputation, the one you built off
my Color.
I fight with the same fire in my eyes
that you chose to use to kill my Color.
I fight with power, I fight with God.
Didnt you introduce him to me just
Remember, he was of my kind.
How dare you think I would continue to bow
down to you.
Did you not understand my roots?
Not understanding the meaning of being human
Just because we are different colors does not,
mean we all can't be the same.
Just think about it dont we all bleed the same?
Shit, the same?
Think the same?
live in the same world you and I!
So why are we so far apart, divided?
You and I, as if this is the way it was intended to be
speachless you are.
Because I have come far, what's the distance now
between you and I?
How about you grab my hand, untie this generacinol curese
Change the Color block
Together, you and I stand.
Color Is The Name They Gave Me
SONDER BALANCE
The balance between two strangers
Keep that in mind.
By Delleesa Harris
Copyright//
sharing only intended
3/3/26
But Color is what makes the world
What it is today. United we shall stand.
Let my Color talk to you.
Because this shit runs deep.
Don't allow it to go over your head
as my roots are intertwined.
Longing to be seen standing tall like a tree.
deeper than the ocean that Color you see.
My Color speaks volume
My Color speaks strength
My Color speaks Integrity
My Color speaks for ME
Color Is The Name They Gave Me
man, my Color runs Deep.
2
5 comments
Delleeesa Harris
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