Passing Mask

5/3/2017

I wear my privilege like a mask

So I can pass as

White

Hetro

Christian

middle class

None of which are who I am

This mask has saved my life on more than one occasion

It cracks when I forget to keep my mouth shut

And my real identity burns through

I am lucky to have this mask

Handed down from ancestors who passed

Grandmothers who passed, while their sisters burned

Uncles who passed, while their brothers were lynched

Grandfathers who passed, while their families were gassed 

Aunties who passed, while their cousins were sent to prisons masked as boarding schools

I have this mask because they kept silent and survived

Their tears have burned the inside, polished the outside

I know how blessed I am to pass

But, I would like to drop the mask

And just be human