“FROM WHAT I HEAR AND SEE” By Funanya Odu 11KMS

If I were to take out your heart,

Move all your organs away

And inspect it with a glass,

Would I find it missing pieces?

Eroded by the words they say.

I heard them calling you by the name

That they created years ago, 

To refer to us as animals 

And dehumanise our souls.

I heard them blowing up the alleyways

With guns in the dark of night,

Thinking no one would catch them

Though I fear their thoughts were right.

“Dark skins” are seen as problems

When we’re facing the worst issues,

Not even on the surface,

Do they see what it is that they accuse

Of us

Assume of us

As we are forced to stand in silence for them to choose

Our response

Make up stories of what never once

Was true.

If I were to take out your brain 

And look into your mind,

Inspect it for a day

Then I am sure I would find

A mind so brilliant, that I would question all the hate.

And why they say what they say.

“OTHER” By Eniola Oladimeji 10AOU

My posture remains calm and tranquil,

My thoughts and hands kept to myself,

I’ve done nothing at all to disturb you,

So why do you think the way that you do?

What makes me so “other”?

Hmm,

Tell me…

Is it the colour of my skin,

The tone of my voice,

The span of my hips,

The size of my lips,

The way that I walk,

The way that I talk?

Or is it the way that I move, 

Run, skip, jump,

Just like every other kid?

You didn’t notice my smile,

My self control,

My ability to keep things in.

You didn’t notice my patience,

My ambitions,

Or what I strive to be,

See the first thing you noticed about me is how “other” I am,

But I guess that’s just the way it is.