All you white-skinned
men and women
Showing off
on the television’s tinsel domain
Makes me wonder
if a black man or woman
Has a place
in this land of dark God Neelkantan.
I shake my
head and in I groan in pain
God! What
have I done to deserve this bane?
You created
this land of dark people and Gods
And dipped
them in tubs of skin-whitening suds.
Now all I
see are dark faces white-washed
Hair as if
streaked with rays of golden sunlight
Creams that
promise white skin in a week
With which you
can marry a stud, not a geek.
Girl on
television you may be a big star
But beneath
the discolored skin you are hiding a scar
The way God
created you is on hold
With
skin-whitening creams you have been sold.
Yes, they
say the cream sells more than aerated drinks
Thirst is
nothing so far as you don’t look like Michael Spinks
Armed with
cream and umbrella you must march
Down the
ramp to celebrate the Ides of March.
