a poem: you don’t look at me

“you are so white,” they marvel.
they say my eyes are pretty.
they say my nose is so tall.
they say my hair suits me because i am so white.
they say my hands are beautiful and long.
they say.
they say.
and i want to scream.
do you know what i say?
i say that no one sees me, no matter
how
much
they look.

-a.e