Flagrant (To Sydne)

​by Jayme Causey
AFO Guest Contributor
Jayme Causey, is a poet, author, and, most importantly, a language arts teacher at Jefferson High School in the NE Portland neighborhood he grew up. 

---

Flagrant (To Sydne)

This is for my blended peoples
Who get labeled as both
Rather than as one
Whose every action gets branded
“Oh that's your white side”
“Oh that's your brown side”
“Oh how dare you consider yourself a whole individual? You thought society would let that slide?”

For my experienced peoples
My coffee with cream peoples
My product of progressive love peoples
Your identity is not fragmented, it is flagrantly fragranced
You are not two halves

you simply have more

Though you may straddle between multiple worlds,
That tightrope will give you the balance many strive for

For my mixed peoples
You may feel mixed up
But don't lose yourself in the mix
You may feel separated,
But don’t let their vinegar disrupt your coconut oil soul

You are not two halves
You simply have more

You are not fragmented
You are fragranced with the finest blend of aromas
Plucked across continents from your ancestors roots
Smells that tickle the back of your tongue
And cause less cultured noses to sneeze and dismiss

This is for my people’s peoples
Who raised lovers in times of hate
Who let their children finger paint when teachers asked them to bubble in their identity neatly
Who told truths of pain through tears of hope
Because of you

We are not fragmented
We are fragranced

​