Find the correct answer

I.

i have always been the thing

that’s not like the other –

the analogue touch

through digital screens,

the bougie drink

at a neighborhood dive,

the black ink

bringing anxious poems

to a comfortable

white sheet of paper.

so it would make sense

to be the only brown body

shopping on busy streets,

walking past

peach-skinned mannequins

that wear rainbow-colored threads,

staring out

from store-front windows,

stuck to each other

in a copy and paste culture,

void of color.

II.

when was the last time

a mannequin had an expressive face

behind the mask?

behind the blank

glossy-eyed barrier

of a window glass?

when was the last time

you saw a black man

stand strong and unashamed

with his dark, holy features,

center-framed in a bleached-out world,

fully aware of being

the blurred-out version

of his true self?

III.

I am a free token

for closed minds

who are broke with blind eyes, a splash,

a cool glass

for the sun’s predictable clash

with Charleston streets.

I am the man

without a mirror,

unable to look at himself

in a place

surrounded by the water’s reflection.

someone who is always seen as the “other”

in a copy and paste culture,

void of color.

IV.

I’m looking for memory coordinates

instead of road maps through familiar places,

I’m looking to unravel headphone cords

in a wireless world.

I’m looking for flesh-colored bandaids

that match my skin tone.

I’m looking

to not be so alone.

goog may have it for you

- 70

this is the answer for you hope it