I am a poet.
I am a black bodied
Nappy headed,
Kinky haired,
Glossed lipped,
Thick hipped female poet.
I am a voice obsessed yet heavily oppressed,
Drowned in shame and suffering.
I am a member of the last group to receive suffrage.
I am made up of mouths who were never allowed to speak.
Whooped by hands whose knuckles fought,
Yet continue to bleed.
I am ashy kneed and of colored creed
With sweaty hands from nervous deeds.
I am no longer disguised.
I am a woman with deep black eyes
And acute ears to recognize
Those handsome smiles which whisper white lies.
I am A-M-A-N-I, I write
With cramped fingers,
I am a woman
With lips plump and wide,
I refuse to recite
America’s Pledge of Allegiance
I was a girl who once prayed
To a fake image of Jesus
Whose white skin and straight hair
Always worked to confuse us.
I am thin and my skin is brown.
I am a member of the only race
Blessed with a natural crown.
I am a poet.
