Shedding My Identity

Shedding the stereotypes
I shaved my beard
Breaking the chains and unlocking the locks that tied me to myself
One by one, they fell

I fell, into the sink and down the drain
Away with the darkness
Away with the blackness
The white is covered in the black

Deeper I go, shaving away my skin
Blacker and blacker the sink gets
Redder and redder my hands
Redder and redder my skin, my black

I press the blade; I shave deeper
More red and more red and more red
“Less black; less black; less black”
Less brown; less tan; less me

Beneath the grey is black
Beneath red is black
Beneath the clear is black
Shedding the stereotypes