Sarah Taylor

Mixed

Gleaming eyes, green like the depths of the lush Lacandona,
Set against tanned skin, stained with the blood of conquistadores
Who massacred my ancestors, soaked with permanent trauma.

Those men looked so valiant on the bright pages of my schoolbooks,
Slick and shiny like the swords used to slaughter my other half.
Teaching me truths that would unravel with each genetic strand.

DNA that screams, “Resist!” when I need to pay the bills, but
Lets me fight for justice when I want to, not because I have to.
The cashier greets me in Spanish; my gracias betrays me.

Light eyes glance down over stuttered syllables muttered in shame.
Be Proud! Assimilation is not for the weak, they said.
I take the receipt thinking, you’ll end up broken anyway.

Bio

Sarah Taylor uses her art to teach, shock, and inspire, and draws on the diversity of her life experiences in her work. With international experience that includes corporate recruiter, makeup artist, travel consultant, Lyft driver, ghostwriter, social media manager, and English as a Foreign Language teacher, Sarah’s global perspective has shown her that we are more alike than we are different. Writing professionally in various contexts for 15 years, she also writes creatively as a poet, novelist, and screenwriter. Sarah’s poetry draws the reader into the rhythmic stanzas of the Korean sijo format with seductive and poignant themes. Follow her @sarahtaylorwriter.