We muster the courage
Day in and day out to just be
Our authentic selves while
Expressing Our heritage creatively
Mustering the strength
to allow our beauty to shine through
While overlooking the looks and stares,
Being labeled unprofessional too
And the comments you make,
And how less serious us you take
But make no mistake
Things are changing with haste
Days of conforming are over
And so are your standards of beauty
We’ll proudly wear these crowns
Preserving ourselves is our duty
We’re serving these curls and the braids
The microlinks and finger waves
Lace fronts and faux locs
Marley twists and Bantu knots
Roller wraps and
wash and gos
Spiral sets,
micro braids and jumbos
Senegalese twists
and 27 pieces
Sisters locs
and natural pixies
Messy buns
Or a high natural puff
Afros that we
proudly fluff
Relaxers and
silk presses
Pompadours and
African head dresses
Dread locs and
brush cuts
Low buns
shaped like donuts
Tree braids and
two strand twists
Swoop bangs created
by flicked wrists
Greased scalps
and braids outs
Flat twists worn
free and stout
Slicked back ponytails
With deep side parts
Boldly wearing these styles
As pride flows from our hearts
But We shouldn’t have to muster
the strength to walk in our very essence
When it’s a gift from God
it’s our unique blessing
How we choose to wear our hair,
should not render us limited
Because What’s on our heads
certainly has no bearing
on what’s in it
This feature was submitted by SM Nelson
From Birmingham, AL, SM Nelson is an educator, researcher, wife, and mommy who loves reading, writing poetry, and the power of educating others through poetry. She believes in poetry that speaks to her, using her authentic voice, and that illuminates her experiences.
Beautiful!