[if your complexion is a mess]

if your complexion is a mess
our elixir spells skin success
you’ll have appeal bewitch be adored
hechizando con crema dermoblanqueadora

what we sell is enlightenment
nothing less than beauty itself
since when can be seen in the dark
what shines hidden in dirt

double dutch darky
take kisses back to Africa
they dipped you in a vat
at the wacky chocolate factory

color we’ve got in spades
melanin gives perpetual shade
though rhythm’s no answer to cancer
pancakes pale and butter can get rancid

Copyright Credit: “[if your complexion is a mess]” by Harryette Mullen from Recyclopedia. Copyright © 2006 by Harryette Mullen. Reprinted with the permission of Graywolf Press.
Source: Recyclopedia (Graywolf Press, 2006)