to be kissed:
leans round face in / as if
these wide black eyes
& soft bronze cheeks
- am i not
seriously entitled
to this?
somebody will soon
enlighten my daughter
no fear / tht
little brown girls
become strong brown women
who are not so welcome here
it is sad, but o that sense of entitlement - just about the only sense of entitlement i like!
ReplyDeleteBut that person won't be me :) Those strong brown women are my inspiration and joy!! Including that little baby's mother :)
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas dear one. All good things wing their way to you x
I have been taking a look in myself with a view to understanding the power that the voice you used in this poem had over my feelings.
ReplyDeleteMy reaction was immediate and I would have to say it was anger. Not anger at you but anger in me. I wrote it down and then I posted it and then I regretted it.
To paraphrase my reading of your propositions: This baby was born to be kissed. This baby thinks she is entitled to be kissed. My little brown girl will be told by somebody that strong brown women are not so welcome here.
As I read it, the voice in your poem is the voice of that somebody who is enlightening your daughter to the fact that strong brown women are not welcome here.
I’m trying to understand why those words made me so angry Maxine. The only sensible explanation I can make for my anger is that I know some people will say it in places where it can’t be heard.
Now I can’t decide whether speaking out my anger is the necessary solution or merely the obvious problem.
Thanks Jason - yeah, I guess sometimes a sense of entitlement can be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteShaista - thanks, & a Happy New Year to you and yours as well x
Brad - always speak out.
That's a very powerful poem and I like the rhythm of it (was it a coincidence that I was listening to Gil Scott Heron's 'The Bottle' this morning?). I would love to hear it live. It's so short and poignant, especially the last three lines:
ReplyDelete"little brown girls
become strong brown women
who are not so welcome here"
Love that space in between. :-)
Happy New Year!
Greetings from London.
Sort of sums up my feelings as a teacher. How to teach my sophomore Black female students that their day, their crowning day, is on the horizon if they can just endure. These are my girls who will cuss me out to my face, help me carry my bags in the morning up the steps to my class, and visit me in the summer to make sure I'm all right. I'm going to post your poem on our poetry board today in my classroom. Thank you for letting me know why I have been a teacher for thirty-two years so early in the morning before I've finished my first cup of coffee.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cuban - every year I vow to get audio/video on this site...so hopefully you will hear me voice some of my work soon.
ReplyDeleteWow Ted - thankyou! Please let me know what your students think of the poem - I looove feedback. I'm so glad you're sharing it with them. I hope you also liked the last post 'What Teachers Make'.