Standing among white faces,
somehow I found
it inside of me
to smile outside
even though I’m
the only black girl
in town.

Say I’m ugly
tell me you don’t like
my kinky Afro hair
or rich chocolate skin.
Tell me I smell bad
because my kind
don’t bathe right.

I must be funny
good at sports
lazy in schoolwork.
Highest marks
in the class – but
they say I must have
copied from some
white boy or signed
a Devil contract.

I can face discrimination
cold stares and all else –
but not the indirect daggers
sent from the blue eyes
I love the most.

He said it didn’t matter
to him. Other opinions
have since closed
his mind. His heart
has locked me out
his arms have left
my sides.

But his smiles remain
in a warm corner
of my heart.