Art by Cheryl Hanna
See it would be awfully rude if we had to walk around in the nude just…
Because of a color
See if I wear pink will it make you think I’m
Too sweet
So you would try and beat my head
If I wear brown am I a sight for sore eyes getting
Jumped by four guys
Who now want to fight just for rocking white
And it’s true that they don’t like you wearing blue
So they made my face black and blue, the entire crew.
Shot my friend dead because he sported
The color red. They said they was gonna slash my
Face for wearing orange in this place
And now I’m constantly at attack just for wearing
Black, in fact they won’t even speak back or say hello if I decide to wear the color yellow. See it’s
Gonna be awfully rude if we have to walk around
In the nude all because of a color. But then if I step
Up on the scene and I’m looking mean wearing my green,
Like money don’t smile at me cause ain’t
Nothin’ funny. And no it’s not okay if I’m wearing
Gray, see we need to pray, before it becomes awfully
Rude that we all have to walk around in the nude just because of a color.
A purple shade almost made me die thought I was acting too fly.
And he said he
Can’t stand my particular shade of tan and he would
Proceed to shoot me in the back because I was sporting black.
And she shattered his face and sprayed it with mace for stepping on her blue suede shoes,
And the leg he would lose was from the joining forces of different
Crews to rush his spot, his jersey was red and white and it was hot.
And he got shot five times in the head
Just for wearing that red hot jersey to the game
With everyone clocking
They started knocking
Until the boys in blue
Arrived for someone
Covered in red and they
Had to put a white sheet
On a brown face on a silver
Stretcher in a white ride
See it’s gonna be awfully rude
If we all have to walk around
In the nude just… Because of a color
Copyright © 2002 by Donna Felton
Inspired by my students at IS 238 who are caught up in gangs and violence.
Donna Sharee Felton has been writing since she was in junior high school. She discovered her passion for poetry when she was asked to write a poem about what was going on around her. She has a bachelor’s degree in language and literature from SUNY and is studying for a master’s at Hofstra University. She works as a teacher’s assistant. Donna is currently working a book of poems entitled, In Due Time. She has one son, Akinda.
Both a dazzling poetic tour de force and a cry from the heart.
