I'm no piece of brittle

My life plays like a roller coaster ride

Every minute emotions change

The thickness of my skin

Is no reflection of my path

But the path of those before me

The ancestors

The whips, the chains, being thrown off the boat

Hung by a rope

My feet can't dangle in the air

The price has been paid

Ain't got time for fear

Nigga please

Get the fuck outta here

I'm tearing down barriers

The rules of being in my place

Don't apply

Tokens are for Chucky Cheese

I'm building bricks

Splitting trees

I'm standing in the field

Fluffy whiteness to my knees

I breakdown the words

You believe are me

Recognize greatness

The strength in me

Is stronger than what man can see

On my back

I carry the cross

For the ancestors and the slaves

I take the whips for Jesus

I put the spiked crown on my head with ease

I absorb the pressure from the water

My feet aren't planted

They are cemented in purpose

No mirror for the image that is me

My knowledge can't be parted like the Red Sea

R.E.S.P.E.C.T Me

No limits

I'm sitting under the tree

Holding the branches of my blood line

I'm moving through time

With the mind God gave me

To proclaim

My purpose

Stories are my weapons

My words are my strength

My heart and soul will not be broken

My path has been written

No static in my stride

I'm claiming what's mine

The history of my ancestors supports my foundation

The blood of my mother and father is the lava I breath

I proclaim your evilness

Can't break me

Your fear can't rock me

I'm coming to the table

With all of my BLACKNESS

Light, dark, Carmel, midnight and high yellow

This world is nothing without me



Sharon Nyree Williams is our Poet in Residence for February.