The Flag That is My Skin

The Flag That is My Skin (The Rainbow in Me) 5.19.20

I don't have thick skin.
I've just lived my life exactly the way I was supposed to;
with somewhat shameful experiences, but I've learnt;
with loving-lovely memories, that I cherish;
The coat of the wind that passed by me, for the one that's supposed to come,
A coat of hate and bitterness.
A coat of ignorance, even by my own people.
A coat of jealousy and putdowns.
A coat of people who held my spine,
who held my chin, who saw my soul.
A coat of my grandmother; it's pure; that one runs through my veins, through my soul, when I speak, when I laugh, when I love. Even when I bite and have no regret; I can feel her in me now.
A coat of hope that I hope to share, to smear on others.
A coat of sounds that lift my soul, or can bring it down, when it paints itself blue.
The coat of silence, of rest, to live again.
Red, like the courage of my will to be, Me.
The coats of life have made me who I am today.
They've given me strength to hold my head high, to hold this flag, that is my skin,
to wave this rainbow, that lives inside of me now.