IN IVORY MIRRORS

JEBRON PERKINS (content creator)

I took a look through an ivory mirror

And I saw, staring back at me

Pristine portraits of presidents and precedence

A realm so white they wouldn’t let my presence in

I stood on a parapet-less precipice

Questioning

Is this what my life will be, the rest of it?

Me wrestling for a spot that supremacy has nestled in

I realize, that if I am to mess with it

That I must break the mirrors,

And thus the ivory that lives within

I put a sorting hat on society

It calls itself a Slytherin

An apt description of its expectations

Like snakes, just seem to slither in

And they become part of you

A self-destructive discrepancy

They seem to activate the ivory

Reflections turn to enemies

What more could you expect?

Especially when told, in perpetuity

That society thinks greatness

Is out of reach for you and me

We can relentlessly pursue

But the garden grows no fruits

Glass ceilings get broken

But ivory mirrors are ever true

We seek, but can’t find

Ivory keys to perfection

Straight, male, and rich

With pale-skinned complexion

Now those who don’t make it

They ought find new direction

For no one survives

Sans the mirror’s protections

Some embrace the ivory;

Without its binds, they’d fall apart

Ivory mirrors build boundless barriers

They bridge the gap over broken hearts

But those that allow the glass inside

Oft find themselves with uncleaned slates

If introspection doesn’t match reflections

Self-love transforms to a new self-hate

Lest we forget those who’ve mirrored their eyes

Who’ve refused the colors, taking ivory’s side

A self-rejection, a past to rewrite

Cardio-colorblind, all the heart sees is white

For the things you love become who you are

And visions of ivory envision a star

So, to succeed, they say white’s who they’ll be

They embrace their facade, their way to be free

Still, I choose to forge a new path

Let ivory mirrors be broken at last

Every fragment shall return to its place

And every mirror resigns in disgrace

Though glass shards exchange final blows

The era of ivory has come to its close

On the horizon, a new age has dawned

A palette of portraits, monochrome begone