Imagine this for a second

Being a young woman, pregnant at 15

Not really sure how to do the “mommy thing”

But you handled it gracefully

Life happens again, 3 years in a row

’90, ‘91, and ’92

And before you knew it, you had a dope ass crew

Imagine years going by and thinking “I’ll give it one more try”

And now it’s ’95 and you’re a 24 year old mother of 5!!

Imagine 5 different attitudes

5 different birthday parties

Imagine working and going to school, to feed 5 mouths

Imagine barely seeing those 5 faces

Because you had to creep in after bedtime

And be gone before they woke up

Imagine losing your career in 2008 and praying to God

Then getting blessed with your OWN BUSINESS in 2009

Now imagine thinking, “Aw shit, I’m finally getting the hang of this!”

Then turning around and adopting 6 MORE KIDS!!!

Man life got crazy quick!

In the midst of all of this, that original 5 gave you 10 GRANDKIDS!!

Imagine sitting in your room at night

Crying and begging God to make sure you’re doing it right.

Imagine being told you’re not good enough

Imagine being a diamond in the rough

Imagine facing adversities, while dealing with your own demons

But still SMILING!

Imagine doing all of this, and STILL reaching your 10 YEAR BLACK OWNED BUSINESS ANNIVERSARY!!!

11 kids, 10 grandkids, and a booming business

Now let’s be honest, this shit sounds hectic!

Some may call a woman like this insane and maybe even crazy

But I call her MOMMY and let me tell you

You are the SHIT to me lady!!

You are blessed, you are STRONG

And Lord knows you are patient.

It was hard to imagine that life, huh?

Hell, I couldn’t imagine it either.

But my momma, my BLACK QUEEN does it FAITHFULLY & EFFORTLESSLY!

Take me back

Back to when the street lights were our curfew

Back to when we’d coming running down the street, when we heard mama holler.

Take me back

Back to when we’d ride bikes for HOURS

Back to when we played Hide-n-Go Seek

(the seeker would always cheat!)

Take me back to breaking the fire hydrants open and packed pools on the hottest days.

Take me back to bundled coats and Vaseline soaked faces in the winter

Spending all Saturday playing sports at the Riverside Family Center.

Dance contests with our friends, playing curb ball, eating popsicles, playing Crash Bandicoot.

Take me back to Kenan and Kel, ALL That, and HEY Arnold

Back to B.E.T Uncut and Tales from the Crypt

We knew we shouldn’t have been watching that...y’all we were a trip!

I Am A Woman!

I Am A Black Woman!

I LOVE My Chocolate~kissed skin.

I LOVE My stretch marks!

I LOVE My wide hips & full lips.

I Embrace My thick thighs.

I Adore the way My cheeks rise when I smile and nearly close my eyes.

I Love Me!

I Adore Me!

I Embrace Me!

I Owe it to myself to live AUTHENTICALLY!

So I stride through life MAJESTICALLY!!

That 5 year old girl, that 1 year old boy

Teaching them the way of life

Teaching them when to fight

Fight for themselves and each other when they can

And understand that I will go toe to toe with ANY man when they feel they can't

Teaching them to love themselves

Love that melanin you were blessed with

Don't let them tell you when your crown needs to be adjusted

To my little black girl, you will be great

Because no stereotype will determine your fate

To my little black boy, you will go far

Because strength was embedded in you before you became who you are

Don't fear snacking on your Skittles, or drinking your Arizona Tea

Don't fear taking a knee

Don't fear recording injustice

Don't fear speaking up for us

Because y'all are the voice...

The voice of the lost, the hurt, the confused, the broken

Some may look at me and ask,

"Who do you think you're raising...because your delivery is quite brazen?"

Well here, let me break it down for you.

You see that little black girl, she is

Charleena Lyles, gunned down while pregnant

7 YEAR OLD Aiyana Stanley-Jones, gunned down while sleeping AT HOME

India Kager, just an innocent fucking bystander riding home with her family

That little black boy, he is

Botham Shem Jean, gunned down by an intrusive BITCH with a badge...IN HIS HOME

Trayvon Martin, chased and gunned down by COWARD with a badge

Victor White III, shot and placed in handcuffs as a cover up

Lest we forget Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Tanisha Anderson, Michael Brown, Yvette Smith, and unfortunately so many more.

This is OUR truth, and part of OUR story.

So pardon me, no FUCK THAT...PARDON YOU, if I seem brazen

But that's who I KNOW I'm raising!

Came into the world, a healthy baby girl

Smooth skin, kinky hair, brown eyed beauty

Encompassed by my mothers love

Can you hear me crying?

Going to pre-school, eager to learn

Standing in the bus line, awaiting my turn

Momma was worried, I got on the wrong bus

Can you hear me crying?

Middle school, I obviously wasn’t popular

Dark skin, wore glasses, tallest girl out there

Getting picked on & bullied, those days were horrifying

Can you hear me crying?

High School, I played sports

Lost games, lost friends, went through things of all sorts

Momma was there FRONT & CENTER, no denying

But you...Can you hear me crying?

College came and went

Had 2 beautiful babies, who cherish all the time MawMaw has spent

Playing with them, and loving them

Giving them all the love grandparents should be supplying

Can you still not hear me crying?

You missed all of this, and anything more to come

Because Momma was ALWAYS there

But you...you placed me last against EVERYONE

I hope you get what I’m implying

I bet you wish you heard me crying.

Brush your teeth, wash your face, fix your hair

Grab you best outfit, don’t forget the shoes

Accessorize & moisturize

Standing in the mirror, admiring your hips

Hyping yourself up with an occasional “YASSS BITCH”

Curling your lashes, glossing up your lips

Queen Bey playing in the background & giving your Buttercream Chardonnay a sip

But after you’ve zipped your dress, strapped up your heels

You double back past that full length mirror & you question yourself

Did I do this for me, or did I do this for someone’s son to be pleased

Realizing you didn’t do this for you,

You kick off your shoes, wash your face & put your dress back in its place

Wrap your hair up & throw on your bonnet

Just to climb in your bed and write this sonnet.

She was shy & timid

She was quiet & meek

She was insecure & felt unpretty...yet

She grew & gained a smile.

She began cracking the shell

Coming from beneath her rock

Attempted to leave home

Go to school & gain some knowledge.

And then college......college

Ya know; the temporary home away from home

Campus encased by train tracks

Inside those tracks, she felt secure

But outside those tracks she was hurt.

She was raped, she was mistreated

She was an object, she was shamed

She hid again & cried endlessly

She lost her smile & felt silenced.

But eventually....

She began to trust again & let people in

She became a mother & learned to love

She learned patience & gained poise

She refused to be a sexual ploy.

And now.....NOW

She is beautiful & graceful

Sexy & sassy...how do I know you ask me?

Because I am Her & She is Me

And I am taking on life

PROSPEROUSLY