Off White

By Paz Brahm

"Off White" is a collection of 89 poems that serve as a narration of my life as a child, a teen, and then as a young adult up to 2018. This collection shows what my mindset was like during those tumultuous times, especially when wrestling with being "off white". The term I coined myself, after experiencing various forms of racial prejudice. This is a raw look into the mind of a girl trying to figure out who she is and where does she belong in this world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paz Brahm
• Release date: Nov 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9798224181629

Paz Brahm

I have loved writing since I was a kid and storytelling has always been a passion of mine. I love writing poetry and really enjoy tackling many themes; from the world around us to the outer reaches of space. I enjoy writing scifi, fantasy, and recently, horror stories.

Book preview

Preface

Off White was a poetry project that covered my childhood, my teen years, and my young adult life up until 2018. The third stage is really the most intimate one as most of those poems I wrote on scrap paper or in private journals when I was really going through a crappy time, to say the least.

This poetry collection covers intimate, sometimes uncomfortably intimate, thoughts of a girl who was always made aware that she was...off white. Dedicated to my dad, who did his best to ease my sorrows and my best friend of 17+ years, who was often the reason why I could wake up in the morning and smile.

Thank you for reading,

​Paz Brahm

Cover photo © Lucas George Wendt

https://unsplash.com/photos/GcZHhIQsjJM

Book cover design © Paz Brahm

Copyright © 2020 by Paz Brahm

All rights reserved

https://pazbrahm.com/

First Edition: November 2020

Off White

Paz Brahm

The Mechanic

The weathered man slouched when the first rays of dawn peeked over the horizon. He didn’t admire its beauty, he merely glanced at it, struggling to remember what it was. It meant a new day had started, a small wave of pride washed over him; almost like his hard work brought forth another day. For his children, for his wife, for all their pets that always were happy to see him. The other men hooped and hollered how it was Friday (so that’s what day it was), which meant booze at bars in a town away from their homes. The weathered man huddled by his locker, a town’s distance from them, he took out the Bible from his oiled jumpsuit and stuck it back in his locker. Another day alive and not blown up by a reactor, another day to see his family.

Wage Slave

I’m a part-timer committing to full time

the not-yet fiancé

or the temp who’s there permanently

or the you are a shoe-in to get hired but you weren’t call

teetering on that tightrope

ehhhhhh

maybe

sorta.

kinda.

not quite

ehhhhhh

there’s a blue wire and a red wire

I’m fuschia

I’m in it enough to be blamed

But not enough to be praised.

You Should Smile More

No, I don’t want to smile

I already tossed my anchors over

The S.S. Scowl

And I’ll toss you too

Contents of a Bubble

Nice is a throwaway word.

The toddler’s level of sarcasm

when I have nothing to say,

but she expects an answer.

Nice.

Or when the guy I’ve been crushing on,

just got married.

Nice.

A customer I hardly know,

tells me their life