We Ask to Not Be Black
Mohamed Elhassan
It is like feathers which jut from naval cavities,
plucked and dipped in the indelible ink of
depersonalization. Wrap your arms around me and,
sway with the brazen gale atop the moor,
the hearse carries solemn oaths of ancestors who plead,
and their heads sharpened by the whetstone.
& I say,
ain’t that how life is,
Because it is falsities which are strung,
hallowed tune of the revered and acclaimed.
& there is a wooden chair that I sit on,
and I rock back and forth and I am told,
you ought to be thrown off for recklessness;
but you see, I am a kid.
Mohamed Elhassan is a junior at Hammond High School in Columbia, Maryland. He is from Sudan and currently resides in Maryland. His work mainly incorporates his strong views on animal rights, nature, and personal struggles. He is forthcoming in the Eunoia Review. He loves to run, draw, and sing when he’s not burdened by the amount of schoolwork he has. Next year he will be a senior and he will continue to work on both his writing and his aspirations as a leader, graduating soon in 2021.
Interested in having your work published in the Awake? Complete your submission here.