Dear Brown Brother,
Sometimes I am brown and sometimes I am white.
Sometimes I will claim to be one,
But this usually ends in a fight.
Am I a Half Kast?
I am half brown.
I am half white.
No, I am an out cast.
I can't speak the language.
I can't play rugby.
I can't sing.
I can't dance.
But boy can I eat.
I have an islanders appetite,
But a white mans appearance.
I understand the traditions and culture.
I know the Pacific way.
I get the jokes.
But do you care?
No, all you see is that I am fair.
So dear brown brother,
Am I still your brother,
Even though we are not the same colour?
Hi Petazoe,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this, the energy and tension and the way it reflects several facets of identity construction, and several ongoing conflicts:
1) Is brown a colour, a statement of solidarity, a way of thinking, a set of stereotypes
2) What are the signifiers of being 'in' and 'out' of the group described as brown.
3) Who gets to define and quantify a concept like brown
4) Is there a psychological 'brown' and how far can we stretch it, how deep does it run
Makes us ponder, intellectually, as well as react, viscerally.
James G
Hi Peta,
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed this - well done!
I see how you have thought about the original 'Brown Brother' piece we looked at in class, and responded to it.
I wonder how the ideas in the poem would work in talking to your 'half white' side.
How do you 'fit in' with those stereotypes?
Good work,
Esther :)