You and I are more than what’s gathered at a glance.

Rebekah Johnson

My soul wants to scream, “I am human!”

A set of eyes and a set of ears

Two lungs giving breath to answer your insensitivity

To your curiosity that must be quenched

For your thirst to know how to color me into your world of black and white

But not to know me

I do not want to seem selfish

Neither does my heart want to be hardened

To the point that I will not share with you

And unfilter your view,

Exposing the true colors of my face

But please know the stretch and strain of my everyday

To learn, to become, to speak, to relate

To know, to mirror, to elevate…

You.

So that you might find greater ease…

With me.

All because of a world not prepared

To see a mixed girl unfiltered

Know that my answer is not simple

It is not one breath or even a few beats of the heart

But it is many parts

Many people crafted into one,

One “me” in front of you

But one answer will not cure your curiosity

For I am more than the faint pigments of my skin

Just as you are more than the color and curls of your locks

Or the sum of your sin

You and I are more than what’s gathered in a glance

And I am a story you can’t unhear

I am a movie in the making

I am perseverance over struggle

I am grace and glory

I am faith over fear

That is “what” I am

So I will have faith that when you ask, “What are you?”

You will care

You will have the time

You won’t be afraid to step close and see

The pieces that make up the Mosaic of Me