The Kaleidoscope of Existence 

My faithful friend, for so many years

that I can’t even remember when yesterday was,

remains within my being,

laughing and crying by my side.

This time, laughing, he read that no

one knows who their skin color is.

An African poet clarified it, saying that

some are one color

from birth to death, but others

change throughout their lives:

At birth they are pink, in the sun, tanned,

when cold, blue, when sick, they turn green,

and when frightened they appear white,

and when they die they are gray.

* Equal in my soul,

he for giving his life and I for the one

I added by his side.

*From the poet and former Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor (Free translation)