Black Warriors
It’s not just her full lips
It’s not just her thighs
It’s not just her hips
Nor is it her tired eyes
That make her a woman
It’s the constant praying
It’s the constant out cry
Of this Queen asking God “why?”
Why must she be the convicted?
Why must she be the sacrifice?
Why must she be the chosen warrior?
Why must she be the under-minded?
Why must she be the critique?
Why must she be the
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Why must she suffer from this life known as
B L A C K W O M A N H O O D
You know that kind of womanhood that NO ONE wants to acknowledge
That kind of womanhood that most people FAIL to address
You know that STRUGGLE of trying to find ways of wanted to be ACCEPTED
But everyday we see that it’s little shit about us that contribute to us being REJECTED
Our hair is either too NAPPY or maybe it’s too SOFT
Perhaps it’s too STRAIGHT but the edges still aren’t good enough
We are either too DARK or we are either too LIGHT
We are either too STRONG which in BLACK CONTEXT that means MAD
Which also means WRONG
Jesus is there anything about us that is ever RIGHT?
Our eyes are too brown or maybe they are too hazel
The only way we could ever be ACCEPTED is if we possess features of half baked looking bagel
Our nose is either too BIG or it’s either too WIDE
Or maybe it’s too creole looking…narrow….which apparently is the perfect size
Everyone wants to talk about their struggles
Everyone wants to talk about their pain
But NO ONE ever wants to talk about THE BLACK WOMAN living in vain
NO ONE ever wants to talk about THE BLACK WOMAN who fights not just her own battles
But the battles of others as well
NO ONE wants to put HER on a pedestal
Instead the put the woman who wants to looks like up high
NO ONE wants or cares to hear her cry
When it seems as though, crying and praying is our only outlet
Lifting ourselves up high is our only escape from not receiving the answer to “why?”
So it’s not just her full lips
And it’s not just her thighs
It’s not just her hips
But it is her tired eyes
It is her worn and torn spirit
It is her wailing through the night
That makes her a Black Warrior
It is our relentless fights
That makes us QUEENS
RISE BLACK WOMEN
STAND WITH ME BLACK QUEENS
LET US BALANCE ON OUR TWO FEET
FOR WE WILL NOT ACCEPT OUR ENEMY…DEFEAT
BLACK WARRIORS
Vashti S. Moore 