POETRY | Black History Month by Kiana Bosman

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

The month I always wished to be more invisible than I already felt.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

the 28 days all eyes were suddenly on me!

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

when my thoughts, opinions, and feelings suddenly mattered.

Even though three days ago my opinion didn’t matter because

I was “biased” because I was a minority.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

I became a trophy, on display without my consent.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

I wore bullet proof skin in order to let the ignorance bounce off.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

I became the spokesperson for every slave in history even though

I never was a slave!

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

When a teacher asked me “what life in the south was like” when I was raised

In the Pacific North West!

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

The month my perfect attendance record disappeared

Because being colored in school was too exhausting.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

getting asked what the civil rights movement was like,

but I was born in the 90’s

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

I was told I wasn’t Haitian, because “Haitian is just another word for African.”

BUT I WAS BORN IN HAITI.

The month in which boys and girls of color around the country

Learn that the color of their skin is only a commodity 28 days out of 365.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

The month I grew up hating because the American school system

Failed me.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

the month I now love, because I now know that my black, and your brown

are Beautiful and Relevant, no matter what month it is.