Yellow Brother

This piece is inspired by J.S Iosefo's spoken word poem - Brown Brother. 
You could say it's a response - kind-of-ish. Haha. I don't make any sense. : /

Yellow Brother
 
I am Yellow.
Yellow like the sun that radiates in the sky.
No, not the sun that gave us "small eyes".
The sun that burns the backs of my hard-working people, on a farm with both arms, to make their dreams visible.
To fund enough funds to travel across the seas, to the land of a long white cloud, and feel the ease of free breeze.

I am Yellow.
Yellow like a durian, my people love to eat.
The smell excels at obstructing the senses, you assume the fruit is only unpleasant.
But the spiky, shelled exterior only protects the real treat, like my people, like my colour, there's more to me than you can see.

I'm more than deep-fried - deep-fried chips, deep-fried fish, spring rolls and chicken thighs.
Bakery pies, dumpling chives, dim sum and fried rice.
My identity is not the food that my people produce.

I'm more than just an Asian that you pass by at uni.
"He must get A's, not B's or C's, with the ability to only study."
"He must not go out and just stays home, books are his comfort when he's alone."
I'm not shy, I'm not timid, I'm not withdrawn but outspoken. Yet you only assume that my english is broken.
It's far from the truth, but to you, you see to understand.
But what can I show, when your eyes have already decided who I am?

You believe the TV, what the media wants you to see, you've been decieved, it's not me, that society portrays me to be.
I'm only a kung-fu fighter, like Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
I have no artistic skill, William Hung's my people's legacy.
Asians are bad drivers and only make decent meals, they belong at home not on roads, especially behind a wheel.
The sport they play is ping-pong, no wonder Rugby has no ching-chongs.
Society is doomed and needs to be redeemed, there's no right to exclude and rob my people's dreams.

Yellow brother.
You can be a singer, a dancer, an actor on the silver screen. A painter, a writer, a philosopher, by all means.
If they drag you down, kick you down, smile and get back up on both feet. 
Because end of the day, giving up is our only defeat.

I am Yellow.
Yellow like the gold that my people pursue and chase.
Not the object, not the wealth, but the dreams, hope and faith.
Their eyes gleam a glow, that reflects a need to change, it's not the race, it's the pace, that makes a person grow.

So don't be afraid to step out and spread those wings afar.
You can fly, you can soar, you can ascend to the stars.
The only failure you can have is not to have tried.
So from one Yellow brother to the another.
Reach for the skies.