By Novid Shaid, 2011
.
I am somebody. Jesse Jackson.
.
I may be an alien
Someone who doesn’t look right
I may be whiter than snow
Or my skin blacker than the night
My face may repulse you
You shudder at my sight,
But I am still, SOMEBODY
.
I may wrap my head with a scarf
Or wear scary eye shadow
My ways may seem strange
You might find me shallow
I may not fit in
To your perception so narrow
But I am still SOMEBODY
.
My eyes may be blue
Or brown like the bark of a tree
My hair may be ginger
I may have knobbly knees
My legs may be crippled
My hands kind of diseased
But I am still, SOMEBODY
.
I may be a pauper
Not a penny to my name
Or a criminal, a convict
Who drops his head full of shame
My mum may be a junkie
And my dad rotting in jail
But I am still, SOMEBODY
.
I may be an immigrant
Or a fleeing refugee
Or a travelling boy
A prisoner in my own country
My house may have been bulldozed
My land forbidden to me
But I am still, SOMEBODY.
.
So I won’t let NOBODY
Make me feel down
I won’t let NOBODY
Drive me out of town
I won’t let NOBODY
Make me feel small
I won’t let NOBODY
Break down my walls
Because I am, SOMEBODY
.
And I will help ANYBODY
Who feels like giving up
I will help ANYBODY
Who feels out of their luck
I will help ANYBODY
Who doesn’t feel right
I will help ANYBODY
Who can’t see any light
Because they are, SOMEBODY.
.
And together we will all fight
Fear and ignorance
And together we will all face
Pain and predicaments
And together we will all feel
Peace and tolerance
Because we are all SOMEBODY.