Poetry Manuscript
Those Colours That Coat Us
The Manuscript
Those Colours That Coat Us is a poetry manuscript born from stigma, scorn, grief, heritage, identity, and survival with albinism.
Across seventy-five poems, the manuscript moves through personal memory, trauma, natural disasters, haunted places, comic-book mythology, companionship, and spiritual reclamation. What began as trauma-led catharsis has become a deeper act of healing: a way to reclaim one's voice, honour the inner child, and transform the word “albino” into one of courage, dignity, and hope.
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The Spoken Word
A word.
A weapon.
A timeless drill—
its auger bits,
threaded tips
rip the surface
of my spirit's will.
[...]
Whorled from an
ever-gaping abyss—
a weapon.
A word.
Albino.
Dive deeper into these poems (and more) penned in Robin's manuscript.
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Excerpts
he asks with
a low-pitched plea,
"Why through these
eyes, has God
allowed me to see?"
[...]
the child sits
adrift like an
abandoned dory—
no stars to sedate
his shame
and emptiness.
A Child's Question
True Colours: The Albino Diaries
The opening movement confronts the word “albino” as both wound and weapon. These free-verse poems return to Barbados, childhood, family, shame, and the earliest moments when being different became something Robin had to endure before he could discover a semblance of solace.
Those Dark Places
Sonnets travel through places where shards of suffering still slither. May they be fact or myth, these gothic-inspired tales treat global locations as witnesses: room, forest, asylum, hotel, catacomb, or house, to trauma too terrible to entomb.
The Eight Manuscript Movements
Coffee and English Cream
After the heavier movements, Robin shares minimalist meditations on his golden retriever, Ella. Inspired by Nelson Ball, these poems provide fun fragments that he shared across the seasons, revealing how his spirit softened during those precious times.
Explore these eight mesmerizing movements in Robin's Manuscript.
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Those Colours That Coat Us unfolds in eight intricate movements—each one confronting trauma through a different poetic perspective. From memoir, Gothic horror, and social injustice to natural disaster, companionship, comic book mythology, and spiritual healing, these sections expand the representation of albinism beyond stigma alone. Together, they reveal albinism as survival, imagination, power, and voice.
Towards The Surface
A sequence of acrostic poems where trauma surfaces through interweaving voices. Each character carries a symptom, a silence, or a splinter—revealing the rippling effect of one horrendous event.
What Our Mother Feels
A collection of haiku where natural disasters become brief, sharp emotional gestures felt by Mother Earth. Though small in stature, these poems warn us all.
My Healing Journey
The closing movement turns inward—these eclectic poems confront buried wounds, grief, anger, memory, faith, and self-forgiveness. Borrowing from his profound imagination, Robin uses bold metaphors as he braves the road to reclaim his voice and spirit.
Tales of The Trauma Wolf
This movement subverts lycanthropy as the manifestation of trauma. An albino wolf becomes a pale, mythic figure—part beast, part reckoning—stalking those who have become victims of their own circumstances.
The Soul Takers, Book 1
Inspired by the Uncanny X-Men and supernatural horror, this movement conjures comic-book storytelling in which the hero, Dorian Shaw, has his world dramatically changed by a catastrophic event—a serialized spectacle that transforms one man's stigma into a spiritual superpower!
Testimonials
"I've been thinking about this collection of poems, and I really love the path they take in the order they're presented. They start off very personal and raw — sharing some awful situations and feelings you had to endure — then move on to others and their trauma, even to Mother Earth herself in those haikus I love so much. The later poems about your dog and how she helped with your healing are so touching. The arc is wonderful; it lets the reader feel your journey the way you actually lived it. Your poetry is beautiful, and I'm already looking forward to the day I can hold a published copy in my hands."
Karen Dhanraj
"I just finished your manuscript, thank you for letting me read it. It feels like a window to your soul through your scars — very intimate. Some of these poems are the most powerful I've ever read; I don't know how you were able to put yourself so fully into every voice on the page. Your mind is beautiful."
Tara Hicks
"I love it. I love how you curated each piece after another, how vivid you draw the characters, how tangible every detail feels. Reading it felt like being let into your life — I kept thinking about my own family, my own memories, long after I'd put it down. It doesn't just tell a story. It opens a door."
Nasim Kay
Learn how Robin reclaims his power through the 75 poems woven into this manuscript's emotional tapestry.
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Reader Care
The poems in this manuscript explore difficult themes, including childhood trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, racism, grief, stigma, violence, religion, and survival.
Some pieces may be unsettling. Please move through the work with care, pause when needed, and honour your own pace.
My readers' well-being comes first. Thank you for taking the time and space to explore Robin's offerings of memory, imagination, and acts of reclamation.