white like me

i painted my face white
and lived among them
many years, i sang
their songs, and ate
their food, and wore
their clothes, to fit in,
i suffered their shame,
the indignities, to see
what it was like, to be
white in this country.

and now, i’m coming
out, like the morning
sun, do you see
the dazzling beauty
of my rainbow face,
the shattered light
like a pane of glass
that scatters
its hard cut jewels
on a white oak floor,
see how they free
the color from
this place, can you
behold my glory!?

     "see now my opulences,
       hundreds of thousands
       of varied divine and
       multicolored forms"
         -- Bhagavad-Gita 11:5