Nice to Meet You

When you met me, I left an impression,
We all do, I’m guessing.
All I’m asking is that you consider,
How perception can be blind and bitter,
Conditioned to bias and trend,
Hindered by violence and sin,
Perspective is knowledge and vision,
One we control, the other’s an image.

Maybe you thought that you knew,
Who I am, at a glance, from a view,
Information you gathered, assumed,
Sadly, you don’t have a clue.
History, internet, news,
Media, socials and groups,
Factions, labels and limits,
Selections of past or opinion,
That’s what you had to begin with.

I said a few words
but you didn’t hear me,
You mistook how I look as behaving,
Sadly, you’ve mistaken.
My gender, my age, my hair and my eyes,
My heritage, race, my face and my size,
What I wear, how I accessorize,
DNA and personal style,
That’s all you have to go by.

Maybe I’m not what you thought,
I don’t fit the box where you’ve kept me.
I’m not what I should be,
At least, not stereo-typically.
Maybe you can’t find the answers,
While you boast about righteous meanders,
Intolerant, prideful and slandering,
You might understand why it’s come to this.

When you have no idea who someone is,
Past introductions and pretense,
Set apart from general formalities,
--Individuality--
Who I am is a statement of attitude,
Nice to meet you.



©CMaloney 2018