Racial Slur (bop)
by Arin Prejean

Live and let live even if there’s mixed blood that’s my motto

They say the darker the flesh the deeper
The roots, but the lack of melanin in my fair
Skin leaves room to bare the weight of my
Family tree bearing strange fruit this complexion
Rooted in ancestry sprouted from the master’s seed
Planted in the soil of an African womb

Live and let live even if there’s mixed blood that’s my motto
One half Voodoo, one half Wisconsin

I still snap combs when trying to untangle
My roots there’s too much history tightly
Coiled in these knots twisted lineage mixing
Blood lines
Of cotton seed ruined palms and the privileged
Finger tips that own them

Live and let live even if there’s mixed blood that’s my motto
One half Voodoo, one half Wisconsin,
He’ll do your taxes but he won’t stop dancin’

I have folk songs tattooed to the inside of my big
Bottom lip oppressed by the academic language
That sits on the tip of my tongue my face a mosaic
Of races blurred identity, what do you do when you
Find kin in both faces but to them you are unfamiliar?

Live and let live even if there’s mixed blood that’s my motto
One half Voodoo, one half Wisconsin,
He’ll do your taxes but he won’t stop dancin’
Slaves holding whips, halfros with hips

My kind have managed to be unseen between the lines
Of textbooks grown in the cracks of history they say the
Darker the berry the sweeter the juice but when you’re
The grey area who could blame you for being bitter

Live and let live even if there’s mixed blood that’s my motto
One half Voodoo, one half Wisconsin,
He’ll do your taxes but he won’t stop dancin’
Slaves holding whips, halfros with hips
That’s the Mulatto
 
 
 

 
Arin Prejean is a youth spoken-word artist who has been performing and competing since 2011. Although she has been writing for most of her life, she began to master her craft under the mentorship of former Individual World Poetry Slam champion Chancelier “Xero” Skidmore and coach of Baton Rouge’s adult slam team Donney Rose. Arin has a passion for expressing what many have not been granted the right to say. Due to her blended ethnic background, each of their cultures influence her writing tremendously. She plans to continuously grow as she transitions from youth to adult poet in the near future.