Assimilation

I carry a veil with me wherever I go,

To protect me from the other,

The otherness, whom I fear and want at the same time, A forbidden fruit I wanted to devour but now I know its ways.

To procure a gem hidden in the deep darkening moor, It seemed like I was gaining something in the process over the years, Steering into the glory of assimilating into other,

Becoming other was a goal,

I spoke, I read and I communicated with the gifts from other, It made me believe without those gifts I was nobody, The element I was uneasy about,

Being A misfit, savage, and an alien,

I consumed without a qualm or query,

I was taught the virtue of others as an infant,

I didn’t see the sins and saw only the privilege,

I didn't possess or was versed to be critical or analytical,

I was taught the contrary, I was taught to be regaled with other, Or gratify the otherness, inturn I will be rewarded,

Reward meant many things a prestigious throne,

A place offered among the ones to be reckoned blessed,

But in return inquired for a greater stature,

The very essence of my soul,

Rust that floods throughout,

Rust leaving a man immobile,

I am gradually stirring from comfort,

Striving to annul what has been commended,

To cease the cycle of assimilation,

To return to the core of my being.

I belong in nature among the birds, sky, and the river, Surrounded by highlands and my kins,

I presently depart hind to the locale I have always belonged, To liberate from the shackles of the other.

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This poem is personal to me.