My Brown Skin
Anita Agrawal

You were on the outside - never looking in

You didn't know me by my nature,
You knew me by my skin.

I often looked in the mirror,
and I couldn't recognize my own face

I saw what others saw,
A young woman of a different "race"

I thought about you often
and realized this only once...

I am not your "foreign friend", or the "exotic one";
I am a part of this country just like everyone

We all have the same dreams;
But you will never know

To you, "multiculturalism" is the Canada Day show.

We share eachother's cultures
Just for that one day;
Each time emphasizing our differences in an aesthetic way.

Look at me with blind eyes;
Try looking beyond this outer guise.

There is a person inside me,
Just like the one in you.

Understand this person with your heart and mind too.