I am NOT a Color (part one)

     I wrote this poem a while ago because I felt the need to express myself. When I shared it with a friend, I pretended like I didn't write it until she said she liked it. I always want to write more poetry about stuff that applies to me, but it's hard to find time and then become inspired. It's also hard to articulate what I mean. 
     I was totally going to share the poem with you, but I honestly believe that it's garbage, so I'm not going to post it. I just want to share something personal with you. 
     

OregonDOT / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

My mom is white and my dad is black, so obviously, I am biracial. This, however, makes me appear more 'black' than 'white' because I have darker skin than some people. It's a struggle everyday because I feel 'white' because I was raised in a city full of white people who know very little about diversity, but I look 'black' because of my skin. I am not 'black' though, I'm brown. It's actually an issue that I've had to deal with on my own because neither parent fully understands; my mom thinks people stare at me because I'm beautiful, but I know it's because I have one of the only afros in our city or because of my skin. My dad doesn't really comment on the issue.
     I don't like talking about this because I'm afraid that if I bring up how I feel about racism and things like this that people will respond negatively. I'm so scared that if I bring it up, someone I trust will turn out to be racist. I had a friend of mine do that to me. We were decent friends for a few years, then he tells me that he wants to burn a cross on my yard and hang me. It's funny how everyone knows I hate him now, but no one really knew why. Some people tell me to get over it, but it's because they don't understand. No one will unless they've been in my shoes!