You look at me with pity
Concern or indifference
For I am an albino child
But you only see the outside of me
If I could express myself
I would tell what I am inside

I am very much like you
I feel pain and hunger like you
I can ask politely for a glass of water
I know the dry and parched feeling of thirst
I itch when mosquitoes bite me
And I run when I see a lion

I have a heaviness inside me
When I left my mother’s womb
though it is so comfortable to be a baby.
I was so dependent,
when people treated me like a big boy.
I never wanted their sympathy,
I only needed their respect for what I am.

I can be slow and hard to be understood
For what my “Tomorrow” means
It took me months to learn to pedal the tall blue
tricycle. I was so proud, at last
both my feet pedaled in the right direction

Think of me first as a person
who gets hurt, who loves and filled with joy
And I know I am a child to be encouraged and directed
Just smile and say “hello”, even that is enough

Think of me as a person!