White, Too

If another white person tells me to stop and be only what they want me to be

To not put my elbows on the table

To not eat with my hands but to cut my tortilla with a knife and fork

To not paint my house pink, purple or orange

To talk quieter in public and not raise my voice

Even though sometimes all I've got to raise is my voice

If another white person tells me to believe in white myths

Like George Washington cutting down the cherry tree

Or how all white Americans are Adams and Eves and the Indians were only savage animals left outside the Garden

Or to remember the Alamo the white way and to forget it from the Mexican view

Or to accept slavery as a national pastime