On being dark-

On being dark-

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She was told as a kid,
To be fair is beautiful,
So she looked down her skin,
When she sighted a mirror,
And they pointed at others,
Saying- that girl is pretty.
And she withered inside for,
She didn’t look like those “pretties”.

8 year old and she’s taught,
To be dark is a sin,
For no man would approach,
A pigmented melanin,
And she’ll grow old and wilt,
In her lone parents home,
Well except, well except,
She did something about it.

And she did, yes she did,
More than something about it,
Now her skin is much lighter,
But she didn’t stop at her skin,
And her nose is a bit Pointer,
And her lips are much fuller,
And they point- see this fake thing,
Forgetting that they made her,
By the words they had implanted,
As a kid of eight years old.

26 thoughts on “On being dark-

  1. wow, powerful and it speaks beyond what I can write. THIS IS THE Truth. Our society has shaped beauty so far fetched. I thank you for putting your brilliant pen toward this issue. Well done, well done…

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  2. Oof, the raw honesty is extremely poignant in this poem, Ameena. Children absorb so much, more than we give them credit for. And more often than not, it’s the words and actions of adults that taint the children’s innocence.

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  3. The message is indeed in between the lines. Beauty is not in the color of the skin. It is important to let young people know that they are beautiful just as they are and not to be moved by what society celebrates.

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  4. A wonderful poem with a powerful message! Words can often times shape a persons life, as in this case. We need to be aware , and guard our choice of words. Sometimes they have a negative affect….in this case, but sometimes they can have a positive affect.

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    1. Thank you very much JC for sharing your thoughts on this. I also believe, that a lot of times, words do shape who become and how we see ourselves. And ohh yes, they can also have great positive effects. I am a living evidence of that.

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  5. Great poem. Its crazy that we tell kids these things even to this day. And by parents with the same skin colour! Everyone needs to learn to love themselves and accept who they truely are. A much needed poem. 😊❤❤❤

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