Leo Shelton © from the recently released “RHYTHMS – Poetry and Muse”

Brown skin,
Of my people
Affectionately called “black”
Colors of a rainbow heritage
A culture under attack

Indians are called red
And my redbone brothers, black
But white boys are called Caucasian
Cause of the pigmentation that they lack

I’ve looked to the rainbow
And never found my color
Looked up the definition of black
But now I don’t bother

There’s darkness about my people
And all people to be sure
But my brownness don’t make me evil
And your lack of hue don’t make you pure

I am an African prince
American by birth
Don’t ever call me “black”
And try to discount my worth

I’m much more than a simple color
And my heritage meant a damn
So if you really want to identify
Exactly who I am…

Call me African-American
And skip the Uncle Sam

Call me African-American
And I have no “Uncle Sam”