Lessons (To Pimp A Butterfly)

I am black. I am white.
I am selfish. I am kind.
I am sensitive. I am cold
All these are wrong.
What I am is contrast.

Swirling shades of skin
Shades of personality
Shades of morality
Shades of grace
Shades of weakness

These shades of self-identity
They do not make me good
They do not make me evil
They make me human

The walls that I think cage me
Are just the skin of a cocoon
My wings lie beneath my skin
Ready to be unfurled and seen

I am caterpillar.
I am butterfly.
I am neither.
I am both.