Her coffee skin, Amani Her coffee skin and hazel eyes glisten in the light Her silky hair glides in the wind, delicate, like a kite She walks at a steady pace, a smirk on her face She knows what’s coming up, the same haunted place Everyday she wonders past the bus stop where he stands A tall, lanky kid whose pockets hide his hands They haven’t even exchanged names, simple empty words Instead he looks her in the eye as they hear the songbirds “Go back to where you came from, you don’t belong here” This simple phrase said everyday makes him feel like Shakespeare Her reaction every time is what shocks him the most She doesn’t cry, she doesn’t frown, she doesn’t act like he’s a ghost Instead she smiles, a simple gesture, as she walks away However, this time she says to herself ‘not today’ A lesson will be learnt, a stereotype broken All by the simple words that soon will be spoken She walks up to the bus stop, next to him she stands “I’m Rabia” she says as she holds out her hand The boy looks at her, eyebrows crouched and arms folded He began to laugh and shake his head, and then he scolded “Can I ask you a question?” he says, suddenly intrigued Rabia looks at the bags under his eyes, she could tell he was fatigued “I taunt you every day, yet you always seem to smile Even though this taunting has been going on a while” She laughs a little under her breath before she began to say “some people in this world think all mankind should be the same. If you had a look at the stars you would be sure to find Each one is different, yet all of them shine.” The boy looked at her, slightly confused Rabia saw his reaction and continued, amused “If monkeys can accept differences, why can’t we? Monkeys are more advanced than us, and they live in trees!” “When Hitler killed all those Jews, he didn’t think, That we were all born the same he couldn’t see the link. From that we lost millions of lives, and many people wept. The biggest flaw of the human species, is the inability to accept.” At this the young boy flinched, staring at the ground As though this story hurt him deeply, he frowned. Rabia saw he was ashamed and decided to go on By the time the boy looked up, his bus had already gone “We are unable to accept that there is no right or wrong, We all come from the same nest and sing the same song. For this, I don’t blame you for taunting me all this time, Since having a lack of knowledge isn’t a crime.” The boy looked at her with an upset expression “I’m sorry” he says “I have a confession.” “what is it?” she replied, curious to know “I was bullied into taunting you, I couldn’t say no” Rabia’s eyes shot up, giving off and cold stare “What do you mean?” she questioned, wondering if this was a dare “These boys in my year don’t like me you see, I’m new‐ish, They beat me up and steal my shoes because well… I’m Jewish.” Rabia’s eyes widened, she was left speechless She now had realised why the boy looked sleepless Sympathy took over her and she gave the boy a hug “Can you tell me more?” she asked, the boy shrugged “Once I was walking to the synagogue and I saw them passing by, They saw my yarmulke and ripped it in half, they never said why.” Rabia was taken aback, shocked by this young boy’s story He continued to share his tales, some of the details were gory. They walked up and down the street that day exchanging laughs and smiles They walked all day for hours upon hours, miles upon miles It was getting late; the sun had set the young boy walked Rabia home “My names alexander” he said before she walked through the door They surely remained friends after that day, for many years to come They were never blinded by prejudice or cared where someone came from Who would have thought this is how it ends? An Asian girl and a Jewish boy, forever best friends By AMANI, 13. Previous Next Back to poetry ages 13-15 gallery Manage Cookie Preferences