there is a reason why
i can fly
i mean, I can fly
like a bird in the sky...
Nikki Giovanni told me
In her poem to not trip
Stay hip, don't flip
just let my ego rise...
But still I catch cold when I walk down the street
Wishing the eyes wouldn't land on me
See
Being black female in America is hard
Obscenities stared at me
tear like shards
From those who do not truly see
All that I am
all that I want to be
I am more than an object
I am more than my hips
I am more than the smile you try to coax
from my lips
When you compliment me
The words don't penetrate my soul
You have your mind in my gutter
But inside me
I have gold
Yet, it's been dulled like copper
Because the bronze in my skin
Often makes me feel like I am
at the whim
Of every negative reflection
Mirrored to me from him
I am supposed to be strong
But not challenge you
man
I am supposed to be smart
But deflect to the
will of your hand
I am supposed to be loyal
But not bring up the pain
Misogynoir frontin as love
Contributes to the strain
Of making her feel like she is never enough
You tell me to lower my standards
that I expect too much
But when I fall a step behind
You call me on your bluff
Tell me I'm stuck up
I'm puffed up
I aint all that
I'm rough
Black man...
You are the ones who are supposed to love us the most
You call us queens but are so
quick to roast
Black women
with our naturally kinky hair
our naturally dark skin
our naturally powerful airs
You claim to be beat down in the world on a daily basis
So when you look at me and my sisters
why don't you see your oasis...
Our shared history and and struggle and pain and hustle
Should make us love each other and be ready to die for the other
Instead you see a conquest
it's no contest
You wanna know what that mouth do
My mouth is speakin knowledge
but it's prolly too much for you
Black man...
Black woman will love you past the point of
can't love no more
We have 500 years of love brought on ships from Africa's shores
So why is that we all long to feel
That we are valued by you
That we are precious
...revered...
Black man
Take a look in your heart
Ask yourself today
When your name is brought up in a room of your sistas
What does the truth say
about you...
<<do you love us>>