a different shade of brown
A Spoken Word piece by Rachna Vohra
she was the first verse of a curse
of the shloks that he spoke
to evoke
the smoke
of our lies
and their cries
to despise
a love that had no eyes
that could not see
that he
was not like me
a different shade of brown
this is what we call
the fall
of it all
the degradation
of information
that turns lives into sensations
and love into donations
of support for a cause
because they are flawed
and cannot see
that he
is just like me
our skin
just a
different shade of brown
with their traditions
they go in opposition
with ammunition
to force us into submission
trying to drown us in guilt
for the love we built
so we would choose to separate
our fate
for the weight
of other people's words
no matter how absurd
because we are a
different shade of brown
what would they say
if we stayed
and mixed the color of our skin
in sin
would they love my child any less
would she not be blessed
but be condemned
to defend
a love that no threads could unmend
that chose to create in her a blend
of different shades of brown