Comprehension

camissa heritage

I walk into a room,
filled with descendants of the british who
colonised my people_
In a moment of uncomfortably ,
the type that comes with being a minority,
i shift my gaze towards a man with skin
as black as the one i wear.

I move towards him ,assured,
but become painfully aware of
my misplacement once i reach
his group of people...
"What are you?" he asks.
I struggle to answer in fear
of cultural appropriation.

"Black" i whisper ,as my voice wavers...
His eyes narrow , darkening with
the impending argument i know is bound
to come.
"Who are you to claim my heritage?" he answers in almost a sneer.

But is your heritage not mine good sir?
If i am not White,
and i am not black...
What am i?
Oh but why can't i be black?
My people come from a legacy ,a history
of colonisation and marginalisation!
Our people...
I do not wish to steal your heritage ,but
only rightfully claim my own.

You call me coloured,
I am black just like you.

             -Liyah Smith

An: I am not trying to feed into cultural appropriation and i am not trying to steal anyone's heritage ,I am simply just trying to embrace and understand my own.

Also ,I've posted some poetry on Instagram ,some you might have read here on my account and some I haven't ever posted so go check it out. My insta handle is *Liyahsmiththefirst.