Melanin Identity

You see, the system works out perfect.
They work it out so that my work is worthless,
like my worth depends on teams and verses,
only good for shooting guns or snatching purses,
because melanin stains my surface.

Yet, I work so that my work is worth it.
Oftentimes my darker shade taints my greater traits.
Standing empty-handed with race,
they load their guns with hate.
Because melanin stains my surface.

Often saying I don't fit with the pack,
too black for the white kids and too white for the black.
I sit back and let my character run the baton around the track.
Because melanin stains my surface.

They say I'm prone to a tumultuous fate
because of the pigment of my face
but I must digress that that is not the case,
because failure is something to which I do not equate.
My excellence is simply innate.
So these preconceived notions that you create must dissipate,
because melanin stains my surface.