#WednesdayFreeWrite – RESCUE
RESCUE
I would love to rescue you
all the brown kids of the world
the put upon
the pointed at
the discriminated against
the teased
I would love to rescue you
because when I see your faces
and your pain
and your confusion
I recall all of my own
because I too was once upon a time
a put upon
pointed at
discriminated against
teased
brown kid of the world
But the fact remains
I cannot rescue you
so instead
I’m going to give you some tips
to survive this shit
(because it IS shit)
so you can have the last laugh
and come out on top
You matter, you count
Your accent does not deem you less worthy
being different isn’t so bad
Your brown skin is gorgeous
your cultural heritage is a thing of wonder
It’s okay to be a nerd
and hang with your other nerd friends
It’s all right to be the smartest person in class
especially when surrounded by such idiocy
Don’t be embarrassed by your folks
and their ways
Embrace them
and revel in the magic
Collect your comic books and erector sets
your baseball cards and insects
Be different
be weird
be you
Play sports
even if they say brown kids don’t do that
Take acting classes
even if they say you’ll always be type-cast
Write novels
even if they laugh and wonder what story you have to share
Sing laugh dance
then do it all again the next day
Fall for the girl or the boy or both
Let music seep into your bones
and move your soul
Collect words that matter
and hold them close to your heart
If you want to be a doctor or engineer
that’s cool
but if you have dreams that fall
off the beaten track of your parents’ hopes
know that it’s okay
to step off
and chart your own course
Understand the world is full of hate and horror
and sometimes it might be tossed your way
But it means nothing
and the tossers of such swill are small
Love yourself
your beautiful brown self
and know
you will make it
you have to make it
and survive
and thrive
so when the day comes
and you’re not so small anymore
you can turn around
and share this note of survival
with another brown kid
needing some hope
Rock on with your bad selves
brown kids of the world
You don’t need me to rescue you
You got this.
#IStandWithAhmed
The horrific and unwarranted arrest of Ahmed Mohamed shook me to my core. I say it all the time, but for real: what happened to our humanity? Young Ahmed and other brown kids out there, getting their nerd on, enjoying being kids in a world that makes it so very difficult to be young, have been on my brain all day, so it makes sense my #WednesdayFreeWrite prompt – RESCUE – is a love letter to them and their beautiful brown selves. I’m still feeling very shaken and stirred by seeing that little boy in cuffs, but creating this little call to self-love eases some of my distress.
My #WednesdayFreeWrite series is based on what I write during the 10 minutes allotted my writing group’s Wednesday Prompt. It’s unedited and unscripted, super loose and probably my favorite ten minutes of the week. It’s perfect in its imperfections and I hope you enjoy.
