Ibiang Ayei
@ayeiibiang080407
1 year ago

BENEATH THE SURFACE

We hid our scars in pocket slits
- fillers to suit all occasions
So when our moods took up black skin,
we bleached Negro white to
Caucasians

We carved our masks on stiff leather
- eyes gouged on a horse's hide
Beguiled in stormy weather;
the mere pretense or just foolish pride

So beneath the surface hid the scab
- the story that we couldn't tell
The bleeding lip we failed to dab,
blood clotting like a gag
so we couldn't yell

Yes, we stifled the truth and hushed
him up in the silence;
Put a bullet through his head
and left him dead in the violence
We stretched falsehood like a curtain,
covered secrets in the dark
And like clouds over a gloomy sky,
it took out all the stars

We repainted the graffiti,
smeared some makeup on our scars
A black eye hid in mascara,
trying to glue the broken glass
The cam clips showed bizarre pictures
for the lips that muttered "fine";
A façade perfectly fit
crosshatched with every shade of lies;

So when gloom darkened our skies,
we lied about owning the sun
And when the storms hit us we bubbled underwater: " I am strong!"
We admired optimism,
but it's complicated when
only reality falls in love with you
over again



***




Written by: Ibiang, Ayei Okoi
Saturday 8th May, 2021.
9:14am
#Aï
#Nirclestories
#Poetry