A Story to Tell

I've got a story to tell

nobody can tell it as well as I can

I am a kid

I went to school today

I got teased by other students

because I didn't look like them

When I tried to tell me teacher

who also doesn't look like me

she just didn't seem to understand my pain

so this hurt in my heart remains

now I am an grown

and I still feel alone

I put in an application for a job

I am confident that I am qualified

I have the skills, education, and experience

but instead I get a reply

saying sorry we have to pass you by

and I cry

because it's not fair

and I still feel empty inside

and it brings back the pain I felt as a child

when I felt excluded and not included

and i'm wondering if these same feelings

would've remained

if my teacher only understood my pain

if my teacher told the other kids

that teasing me was mean

and told me not to be ashamed

but to embrace my differences instead

and that I was just as smart and beautiful as the other students

than just maybe that would've helped relieve my pain

from a system

designed to make me feel inferior instead of superior

even when my credentials are more than enough to qualify me

I am still considered unqualified for the job

that is supposed to be mine

and not for someone that is less experienced than me

but apparently being White

gives you some type of right

that I was never given

so I gotta work twice as hard

and twice as long

only to still be rejected

only to still be tested

only to still feel the pain

that remains

because my teacher never understood my pain

-Dr. Andrea Drone