Brotherhood: An exploration of friendship, masculinity, Blackness and more.
PHOTOGRAPHER: JESSE CRANKSON
I look into my mirror
Smiling, deep into reflection
I feel a warmth wrapped around me
A blanket, comforting.
Comforting, the familiarity of it
In which I find shelter…
A home.
Within the mirror I see myself,
But not me -
Pieces, of shared stories and distant homes
Converging paths within ones walked alone.
I hear arguments and reconciliations that I never took part in
I see a skin fade, though my braids have parts in
I taste okra and stew, but grew up on saltfish and plantain.
The deeper I look, the more the differences make sense
My mind fills with daps and hugs, tears and laughter
With a mother’s journey west
The trials of Black skin -
Pride, doubt, love, questioning from within.
I see an only child
Hiding a boyfriend from his father
And the youngest of six hiding girls from the gaze of his sisters.
I see nights at rainbow clad clubs, sweaty-walled raves,
Days kicking ball, all muddled in a haze.
The deeper I go
Sinking into the comfort of reflection,
I see myself, and I see you -
My brother.
Two lives
Distance, different
Unique, yet shared all the same
A love blood deep,
Though none is shared beneath our skin.
Unafraid of who you are
Nor what I am
Or what, to society separates us
I see you -
My brother.
