25 June, 2008

I coloured?

The following is a poem by an African. It was nominated as the best poem of year 2005.

When I born, I black
When I grow up, I black
When I go in sun, I black
When I scared, I black
When I cold, I black
When I sick, I black
When I ill, I black
When I die, I still black
And you white fellow
When you born, you pink
When you grow, you white
When you go in sun, you red
When you scared, you yellow
When you cold, you blue
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you grey.
And you call me coloured? Who is it Now?
What is so striking in this poem? Surely, neither grammar nor language. Then WHAT makes it so hard-hitting is a question i ask...

9 comments:

Kolor said...

That's a lovely poem... Can you give me some more details about the poet...

btw my blog reads... I, Spectra

Beautiful Mind said...

i came across the poem in a forward mail... i googled it but didnt get anything materialistic... all i gathered is that it is written by an african kid and was voted as the best poem of 2005 by the UN.
sorry i couldn't be of much help...

Unknown said...

well its a good poem that shows the racism present in the world, especially against blacks. and its written in such a way that it conveys the message subtly.

Unknown said...

beautiful poem :)

Coruscating Twinkle said...

an eye-opener.

but the sad part is, people still follow racism religously in many parts of the world!

KC said...

i impressed :D

KC said...

has the beautiful mind nothing to enlighten us with anymore, or is it biding its time to jump out and startle us?

Beautiful Mind said...

@ kc...

lol beautiful mind is taking a break in the ever lively, city of joy...calcutta :D :D

Bharathram Pattabiraman said...

Excellent poem. A simple message, "All are equal, hence, say no to RACISM"