In the late sixteenth century, investigations of ancestry classified Black Africans (negros and mulatos) as “stains.” Any individual with an indigenous background would be considered as Mestizos. The idea that any hint of Blackness in a lineage was a stain continued to the end of the colonial period.
Wikipedia (Casta)
Like eroding wood.
Like aging bricks.
Like initials in
concrete.
Like rusted pipes.
Like dirt walls,
or the paint
that covers them.
Like sweat on shirts.
Like blood on shirts.
Like wine spills.
The lipstick
on the glass.
Like a last
goodbye.
Or a first
hello.
Like tobacco teeth.
Like puncture wounds.
Like scabbed wounds.
Like blackened eyes.
The skin
after the slap.
Like beaten leather.
Or bruised fruit.
Like leprosy.
Like bubonic.
Like Aids.
Like a disease–
forever
Benjamin Williams is a poetry candidate in the MFA program at Columbia College Chicago. His writing addresses speaking of the black and human experience and dissecting the human psyche as it relates to emotion versus thought. He is also a performing poet and has featured and read at venues such as Mojo’s Pen, Young Chicago Authors, Sofar Chicago and The Poetry Foundation. He was a 2011 college slam finalist at the Louder Than A Bomb poetry festival. He currently teaches at Columbia College Chicago. This is his first publication.
