When I walk into a room of people and they all stop and stare
There is nothing I can do
Their eyes are upon me
I hold my head high and brush off their stares
I sit in the middle of circumstances beyond my control
I go to the store to shop for holiday gifts
I barely enter the store and there is a shadow upon me the entire time
No one asked me if I needed help
They just continued to shadow my every step
Frustrated with the treatment I left the situation and returned to the comforts of home
I opened my laptop and ordered most of my presents online
Being sure not to buy from the store that shadowed me
Circumstances beyond my control
I hold no grudges
But I choose not to support the ignorance
I walk through the village and someone asked me what part of Africa I’m from
I reply that I was born in Boston and that to my knowledge none of my family hails from Africa
I explain that my mother is Native American among other things
The lady asked me why I sound so white
I tell her that I’m not quite sure what she means but that I grew up in Brookline
My father graduated from Harvard
What you see and what you hear is what you get
She replied “I didn’t think that colored people could be intellectual or use proper English”
She further said, “If you were speaking to me on the phone I wouldn’t have known you were colored”.
I told her that I didn’t know people could be so ignorant
I told her I ha to be on my way and I walked away with my head held high
Her face turned red and she apologized
Sadly this ignorance touches all of us
Why must people speak before they think
Still
For no rhyme and no reason
Shots are fired into the crowd of innocent people
They drop like flies
Some survive
Some remain paralyzed with fear
From the actions of those
Who just plain stood there
While the unsolicited terror rains down on those unsuspecting
Who will forever be scarred by their actions
It’s sad to say we are all
Still Here In the land of Ignorance©
By Felina Silver Robinson
Copyright© 2016
The Writings of Felina Silver Robinson 