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Joe's Cafe, 24/7 pit stop for ESL learners and teachers | January 2008
Egg's off, bacon's off, bread's off, tea's off. English is on though.

And you calling me colored??

When I born, I black.
When I grow up, I black.
When I go in sun, I black.
When I scared, I black.
When I sick, I black.
And when I die, I still black.

And you white people.
When you born, you pink.
When you grow up, you white.
When you go in sun, you red.
When you cold, you blue.
When you scared, you yellow.
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you grey…

And you calling me colored??

Written by an African child and nominated by UN as the Best Poem of 2006.

Joe | Monday, January 28th, 2008 | Filed under Poetry

37 Responses to “And you calling me colored??”

  1. majo says:

    thank you, it is very interesting and has come from the innocent heart

  2. Bedish says:

    Great poem, I love it! Such a smart kid.

  3. marta says:

    Loved it…Children are amazing…that´s why teaching them gives me so much pleasure. thank you!

  4. nashwan says:

    thanks.. it is very nice words ….. they make me laugh and think

  5. Piet says:

    It’s really touching me… Thank you to bring me meaning smile

  6. Issy Obu's says:

    Nice Poem, makes me think of who I am inside me.

  7. Janiya says:

    hmm,,cool poem,,direct came from the heart of innocent child,,keep it up

  8. Duy Nguyen says:

    I can’t believe this poem came from a child. I has a precious lesson for people all over the world, especially who hate black people as well as Asians.

  9. princess says:

    I think this is the best poem,not only for 2006 , for 2007,2008,2009…………………….
    I have never read a poem like this..
    Superb and Amazing poem.

  10. YOUSSEF says:

    i really admire the deepness of this child’s thinking and the great imagination he is using in here
    wish he can continu and go farther ;i can admit that he s changed my perceptions of colors

  11. wendy says:

    I’m so touched make me smile & think inspires me a lot thank you for sharing some thoughts you are so lovely!

  12. April says:

    When I read this poem, I can’t image it is from a child. I love it so deeply! Hope this child give us new surprises.

  13. Cody Bryant says:

    well reading it im half black,.. and it says alot and means alot. its saying so much. it hits the color thing right on the dot. when i cold, i black when u cold u blue. =D i love it so much!!!! my whole poetry class read this and loved this.. hope we see much more… from this child:) hopfully… it opens our eyes to c children not only as jus learning and look at them as learned, experienced, and wise.

  14. samanthaine joseph says:

    a great poem from a very insightful child. it really gets you thinking also. i love it! :]

  15. Marina says:

    A very nice poem.Short and smart.I like it.This child should continue writing poems because he is really good at it.

  16. Lily says:

    I want to e-mail this poem to my friend,because she doesn’t agree her daughter to marry with a Hindu.

  17. Mutiara says:

    That’s an amazing poem.

  18. Jarmi says:

    It is very nice poem :-)

  19. janny says:

    this poem is so touching to my heart .it give me lots of thinking. from this child’s eye the colour - racial discrimination is still around the world.

  20. abdirahman mohamud says:

    well done kid..well done pride future infront of you …i cannot wait him untill he write another poem..amazing..bye

  21. Tuyet Trang says:

    What a nice poem! When i read it I remember the lesson that I learned when I was a school girl, alesson about the discrimination between Black and White. It touch me. It makes us think about us. Have you ever looked down the poor, HIV patients, Black even one time? Waiting for nice poems from this smart child.

  22. razika says:

    this chid wants to give us love,he wants that our world be full of love and humanity,we should believe in these ,
    a good lesson from a child

  23. HILDA says:

    It is a great truth. It is beatifull poem.I loved it….

  24. Bayu Setiawan says:

    woozy.. amazingly wonderful poetry..
    i write poem too. i hope we can share about poetry. your poetry so simply but hue yeah it’s nice to read and meaning

  25. DK says:

    White is a color.
    If no color, either truly black (as good as blind) or transparent.

    (BTW, america was not “discovered”. It was there before with natives.)

  26. thietcuaemhd1989 says:

    great poem!!!!!!!!!!!

  27. Muzzammil says:

    A poem that has touch my heart. I want to translated this into the local language in Sri Lanka. Is this permissable. Further, I would like to know the name of the child so that I can give credit to him or her.
    Please reply to: muzza@sltnet.lk

  28. David says:

    Amazing how hoaxes persist. If I told you it was written by a rich black republican, would your view of it change?

  29. rasha says:

    When we read this words maybe we forget maybe we never forget the efforts in the world , and this the important point ” apartheid ” of color, nations or races, religions..ect. At all times we allege progress but we do not .
    This feeling we share TOGETHER in all of the world ” human feelings ” , but if we cant expression we must do . Respect and affection each other .

    * we: who have more or less resposibility .

  30. boedy says:

    that poem is very impressive, i know what are you feel, but actually you must realize that the god create everything should have different function, and each function are needed, and we must realize that no body perfect, we need each other, and i hope you never to give up!!!!, let’s rebuild the new world

  31. Boumahdi says:

    That’s really amazing. The white people should uproot the idea that black people are different from them. All human beings are the same. The difference is a question of ethics and respect.
    Stop being racist! Start to think that your discriminatory ideas cause much pain and suffering to others.

  32. Queen_Of_World says:

    hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh u make me laugh it;s soo imazing boeam

    as ones which in Arabic boeam .

    if u wanna not call u black just join 2 my religion which is Islam <3

    we have different colors and different languages but we have only one God :) beace

  33. anka says:

    great.. i am fascinated… :)

  34. muriel henry says:

    This poem is a tranlation into English of a famous poem by Leopopld Sédar Senghor , written in French , so sorry to disappoint you!
    Here it goes :
    Cher frère blanc,
    Quand je suis né, j‘étais noir,
    Quand j’ai grandi, j‘étais noir,
    Quand je suis au soleil, je suis noir,
    Quand je suis malade, je suis noir,
    Quand je mourrai, je serai noir.

    Tandis que toi, homme blanc,
    Quand tu es né, tu étais rose,
    Quand tu as grandi, tuétais blanc,
    Quand tu vas au soleil, tu es rouge,
    Quand tu as froid, tu es bleu,
    Quand tu as peur, tu es vert,
    Quand tu es malade, tu es jaune,
    Quand tu mourras, tu seras gris.

    Alors, de nous deux,
    Qui est l’homme de couleur?

  35. Rose says:

    This Poetry is strong, very strong. It’s beautiful.I liked.

  36. Athieng Majak says:

    Wat a gifted kids…… u said it all baby Africa

  37. adou says:

    a kid with great talent. after growing up, he can become a leader who fight for their own rights. just like Martin Luther King.

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