To Be a Woman and Black

BY ARTIST NAMED NOBODY

To be a woman and black Is to be not ‘woman’ enough for beauty And too black for feminism

To be a woman and black Is to walk with your head low Because no man

Wants to see your face

Unless it’s been caked with powder Burned with bleach And scarred with erased beauty

To be a woman and black Is to be deemed a melanated queen online With pictures that make you gasp in awe

Of the beauty that is black women

Until you look in the comments section And see nothing but vile comparisons of such beauty

To roaches.

She’s dirty.

Bet she’s bald under that weave. Look at this bitch, this hoe, this groupie! Would you say that to your mother?

To be a woman and black

Is to be political

From the moment you are expelled into the world

Your beauty

Your worth

Your pride

Is no longer yours

Your afro is intimidating

Your fashion is unwillingness to conform

Your anger at injustice is offensive

To be a woman and black Is to feel shame

Your hair is appreciated on no other day than October 31st

Your skin is belittled as a marketing tool for makeup brands

Your lips are sewn shut by those who turn to fatten theirs behind your back

Your eyes are blinded by hues of green and blue That outshine your dull coloured Muddy Mocha Disgrace.

To be a woman and black Is to compete

To carry the weight of the world on your back

To feel the same as one who carries a satchel

To corrode your natural beauty

With wigs

With bleach

With contacts With something To separate you from your blackness

To be a woman and black

Is to be brave

To be unashamedly existent in a world you’ve created for yourself

To awaken after a nightmare of disasters and scream:

My skin is BEAUTIFUL

My body looks POWERFUL

My features are MINE

To all the little black girls who gaze at your heavenly afro from a distance

To be a woman and black Is to be beautiful Because black should mean nothing other than beautiful

Your skin is your friend

It glows hues of gold in the light of the sun That it was made to protect you from With it is history that can never be glossed over It is the tone of our unbroken ancestors Those who ruled, invented and created No tan on the planet can recreate such magic (Be glad you get yours for free!)

To be a woman and black Is to look good in yellow Pink, orange, red, brown, green, gold Every colour in the rainbow

To be a woman and black Will forever be a powerful privilege For your very existence is a rebellion