Black Woman | a poem

They say the black woman

Is an angry woman.

She raises her voice

Untethered from expectations

And screams

In the face of injustice.

They say she is wild

Feral even,

as though she were an animal

Meant to be kept

In some cage.

They shame her

And reduce her

To their stereotypes.

Disregarding the messages

In her cries.

They refuse her autonomy

While stealing her culture.

Sanitizing it, bleaching it

Making a mockery of her

Art.

Black woman, do not falter.

Do not let them steal your voice.

Your identity soaks

Deep into the soil they claim.

For you are a child

Born from its roots.

You are a marvel.

Your skin, hair and clothes

Are a uniform made by the gods.

Wear it proud, and unbothered

For this world is yours to conquer.

Yours

And yours alone.