By Seun Matiluko, Fourth Year Law Student
A poem by Seun Matiluko for Epigram's #WhatsMicroaggression campaign
Where are you really from
No where are you from from
In this island floating in the sea
You don’t seem like you’re from here
Go on, just tell me
In this island floating in the sea
You want to ask why I’m Black
But you’re not bold enough
You want to ask where my Black comes from
But you don’t want to seem rude
In this island floating in the sea
So you keep asking
I keep repeating
London, Lewisham, Reading, Southport by the Sea
But your face tilts
You’re still confused
It’s not good enough
Your eyes say
You didn’t say Africa or the Caribbean or Haiti
But your mouth says
“No, but where are you really from”
In this island floating in the sea
Detached from everywhere else it seems
But if you cast your mind back
Drop the nostalgia and ignorance, grasp a book and humility
Think of the truth of the ‘commonwealth’, ‘empire’ or the ‘colonies’
You’ll realise that Britain has never been
Just an island floating in the sea
And that’s the reason why
You can be British and Black like me.
Explore contributions from Epigram's #WhatsMicroaggression campaign here.
