Dierdree Glassford

Hospitality Major

I’m branded, and thrown into the game

Its X’s against Dots

Its Blue against Red

Its permanent

Is it?

My mind is whirling, and all I can think

Is this is uncomfortable

But for so many this is truth

For so many inequality hits them in a way

That holds on for dear life and knocks every

Ounce of energy our of their lungs

Gasping for a breathe of air in this

Suffocating justice system we call

Democracy

Its just a game, a game, its ok

But its not ok

Its unreal, its unfamiliar

Because of the color of my skin

I am privileged

I did not choose this privilege

But it is given to me just the same

How have I earned it? Have I earned it?

I haven’t.

But still, just the same, It is mine

But the guilt is heavy in my heart

And I wish I could scrub my skin off

I do not want the association

I do not want this priveledge

Not if the cost is lives

So many lives, taken with haste, hate, and leaving

Terror in its wake

I go home

I scrub my skin raw, red, patchy

And the branding is lingering

The Red Dot I was given

The Blue Dot I chose

And the weight in my heart that does not leave

Its a game

But its not, and it never will be

Realization hits

And tears stream down my privileged cheeks