Brown Skin

Written while in the provinces of the Philippines [click to enlarge]

Brown skin

The fabric of fertile fields

Strewn across

Worn as a shield

By tireless workers

Brandished by a sun that

Lays upon

Its oppressive embrace

Tempered and untender

A palette of a million hues

Making up white light

A cosmetic of Pacific sun

Paints such complexion

Brown skin is the shade of dry season

It is the color of river bank silt...

Dark like the dirt 

under unearthened roots

To the western eye

It is uncivilized

I say it is evidence of truth in spirit

Of sweat and toil

A mixture that reflects the richness of soil

Brown skin

Connected to nature's

Every fluctuation

Just as the shadows of shade change

When trees hear the wind

Brown skin in flux

Shade of the season