Character Creator | Sci-Fi | Poem

Slam poem on the lack of diversity in 21st century game customizations.

Character Creator

Go on, look at me as though I

selected my own skin

…preset 3

Even if I did, why in the

world didn’t I chose White

privilege

…preset 7

It’s impossible to save

these curls because

my mane doesn’t exist

on your palette

…preset 3088

Yet you want my skin to sing songs

of slavery and/or oppression

…preset 666

Forgive me, for my lips peel short

and chafe at your presumed shape

…preset 8

The only set meant for my

waist and butt, but

that waist of mine won’t fit the

little waste of time you

came close to omit

…preset 6, outfit 5

Has the important female parts protected

and the fleshy parts projected

Harriet…Name taken

Rosa…Name taken

Oprah…Name taken

Nametaken…

I shudder at the thought of being rendered

in a world surrounded by preset 7s

who’ve never wished,

like preset 666s, to

be wrapped in someone else’s skin.

But the masses can’t scrutinize without

the surviving scraps

of the minority

So, I stand here against

the glares of the majority

to represent the preset 8’s

who’ve created their character

for the foundations of the future

CharacterCreator.pdf

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