My Sister’s Veil
by K C. Marshall

PREFACE

MY SISTER’S VEIL(a poem)

Toni’s Veil:
A beautiful face is never enough
To guarantee love, success, and trust.
Torn and conflicted by what they see and say
Maybe they’re right
It’s better their way.
They always win,
So of course we would choose
To perpetrate a look
That will never lose.
I’ll just take it to the twelfth degree
So it appears self righteously
To be me.
So bury the mirror,
And who you really see.
And bury the hatred
Of who you really be.
Then it’s easy to forget the grief
And promise yourself
You can become
A respectable
Thief!

Terri’s Veil:
Restless and young
With nothing to lose.
Thrown into your world
Unblemished, unbruised.
Ready to grow, and trust and learn,
But guns fill your hands before you discern
The value of life, community and respect
A simple way to mask your intellect.
Apprentice of self-destruction,
A king with no crown
Frustrated and confused,
By the systematic run around.
Yet a gnarly lesson awaits to prove
It’s by your own hand
You win or you lose!

Tina’s Veil:
Abandoned and ashamed
Afraid and unloved
I hid my pain
As innocently as a dove.
The Lord answers prayers
So invisible I’ll be
’cause my blllack and nappy
Embarrasses thee.
If only but
For a genuine veil,
I’d lose myself
In self-medicated hell.
But no need to worry,
No need to fret
Their ’yaki’ hair and blue contacts
Are easy to get.
Spare not a dime
For value and worth
Designer labels and gold
To our pride gives birth.
So strut on high, and lively, and proud
As you die slowly
With a legacy
Broken and loud!