Dark Skin BluesA Poem by Mary HeldaBlack is beautifulThe pigment of my people as explicitly seen Glistening on my skin under the glowing sun That printed the color deeper into my skin The shimmer attesting to my heritage Feeding my desire to break free
To rip me apart from me To tear away the evidence of ugliness That was splashed all over my skin Tainted,dirty and black Exaggerated by mother's local simsim bathing oil Evidence to yet the ignorance of my people Yesterday,that charming man said to me; "You are pretty for a dark-skinned girl" I was enthralled..... At least,someone paid me a pleasant hateful compliment
Usually i am just that black girl Ugly to the core But that light skinned girl, Oh boy! The true definition of an African beauty Oh! I am African,alright? But my skin is a shade darker than hers
The melanin of my skin is my shadow Lurking around me Haunting every inch of me My color needed healing Only I didn't know how And God wasn't helping either
The thing is!! My dark-skinned brother was supposedly; An Adonis soaked in chocolate fudge But I was different.you see? Just like my black ancestral gods From the people of the not-promised land
So I got bundled up in hatred My face was adorned in smiles But I secretly bred contempt My heart became envy's nest Poisoning me with bitterness Bottling me up in self loathing
Till I flirted with my imperfections They drew me closer Teaching me to embrace me Revealing my beauteous color,culture,people and heritage That was hidden under stereotypical buffoonery It doesn’t matter what color I am I am who I am And I won’t let the clichéd whispers of society Fade the beauty that overwhelms me © 2017 Mary HeldaAuthor's Note
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Added on March 8, 2016Last Updated on January 31, 2017 Author
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