The Mysterious Maple Mask - by Temilayo A.

Mysterious Maple Mask,

Why do you hide?

Behind that cape,

Of dreaded lies.

You sneak in the dark,

But you still make your mark,

A trail.

Embedded in the lives + gravestones,

Of us.

The diversity you love to brag about.

You’re like clowns,

But there’s no punchline.

You act like oceans,

Causing us to drown.

Treaties burning through generations,

It’s hereditary.

Impacting from the inside out,

Culture began to decay like a drought.

You built your thoughts out loud,

Tormented souls sprint away to the clouds.

The schools.

The schools you used to keep your rules,

Like fools.

Tossing students into pools,

Of hidden dirt.

In order to convert & divert,

Their attention from nature.

You call it nurture.

Because Canada thought they were better,

Canada thinks that they’re better.

You say you’re greater than America,

Take responsibility,

For once.

It’s verbal vs violent,

Wounds heal,

But the scars burned into my mind cannot.

In some ways, I guess, I must admit,

You’re right.

Having a 24% higher mortality rate in the

States.

But having,

A 100% chance of a twisted life here.

You appear to be more,

Sincere.

But I see through you,

Through ya’ mask.

Through your,

“Multiculturalism task.”

Your stupid maple mask.

My culture is not your costume,

I repeat.

Our culture is not your costume,

Don’t you dare assume,

That we’re okay with it.

There’s appropriation vs appreciation,

You probably need some more,

Education.

This feels, like a one-sided conversation,

Take, this into consideration.

Because this is my generation.

In 1923,

You decided you no longer wanted,

A portion of coloured people here.

Closed the dam of your minds,

Let us die in the overflowing rivers,

The Chinese Exclusion Act,

This, is a fact.

You keep making dainty glass pacts,

Dropping and breaking them,

I’m being attacked.

Mysterious Maple Mask,

I really must ask,

Do you love your people?

It’s mind vs melanin,

The darker your skin,

The easier it is for you to melt into the twilight night,

Except,

The stars cannot help you here.

The lighter your skin the closer you grow to the sun,

There’s hope.

You will be declared insane with 2 years locked away,

While I mold into this jail cell, it becomes my bones, my home,

Turning into your ice rink stereotype.

I’m full of fright,

I’m fading into burning sunlight,

I’m finally white.

Am I accepted now?

Will my sentence decrease now?

Have my expectations changed?

Can I safely walk down my street,

Without worrying about being buried incomplete?

This is a reality for us non-whites.

For us coloured folks,

Whose melanin frolics within us.

We must keep our heads high,

Shoulders back,

Posture straighter than the Eiffel Tower,

We cannot lack intelligence.

We must stay vigilant.

So the maple mask does not,

Suffocate us in our sleep.

I repeat.

We must stay vigilant.

Don’t be naive.

Some of you, have been deceived,

Racism still flourishes & sings with the wind,

My heart aches for those who get the harshest breeze,

For oxygen can kill you too.

Racism is taught,

It’s more than just one thought,

More than just an action,

More than a simple reaction,

Racism is a systematic movement.

It’s not longer just for amusement.

Cruel, conniving, Canada,

True north, strong & free...?

Do you love your people?

Or,

Do you just love your mask?