A drastic realization

The other day a friend of mine told me that his daughter had come to a realization; she finally realized that she is black. This discovery came after a day of learning about Dr. Martin Luther King in school. Unfortunately, this seems to be a bit of a shock to her system and now she is quite worried about fitting in because she's not like everyone else in her school.
This just broke my heart. It is never a good time to develop self-doubt and/or a negative personal image. She is a beautiful little girl who knows Tae Kwon Do, and has enough imagination to tape colored paper to her finger nails after her father told her she can't use nail polish on them.


So, to ease my own pain and hopefully some of hers, I wrote her a poem. This is for Gabrielle.


Not Nearly as Nosy as Nora might think

Yesterday morn as I walked down the street

I met up with Nora, who has skips in her feet.

To skip without trying is a great thing to do,

particularly if your age is near five years plus two.

Despite this great talent dear Nora was stuck,

“My nose,” she cried out “it’s as big as a truck!

It’s misshapen and ugly, a true awful sight.

And there’s a big party at my school tonight.

All the other kids have such petite button noses,

there’s no way I’ll ever fit in with such roses!

All truths be told, her nose is quite stunning.

It fits on her face; it stays on if she’s running.

Noses are made for a few simple tasks,

like breathing, and blowing, and holding up masks.

A nose won’t affect if you can run or are smart,

a nose can’t predict if you’ll be good at art.

“But I’m different,” said Nora. “That scares me inside.

And a nose shaped like mine isn’t easy to hide.”

Yes everyone sees it, sure everyone knows

Some might call as she passes “Hey, it’s Nora the Nose!”

Those people, I told her, aren’t the kind made for friends.

They’ve got brains made of bricks, so unwilling to bend.

Your nose ends at your face, beyond is much more,

like a girl who can skip all the way to the store.

Nora thought for a minute, and then crossed her eyes,

this view made her nose look like more of a prize.

“I suppose for a nose it’s not really so bad,

I could have big ears like my grandma or Dad.

And I like them just fine, and they love me each day.”

With that she was off, a girl well on her way.

That won’t be the last time she thinks of her nose,

she’ll love it or hate it with each day she grows.

What Nora learned from our talk on the street

is that seeing past noses can be quite a feat.

But accepting her nose is the first sign of pride

for the great girl she always is on the inside.