I have lightly toasted caramel skin

I have partially nappy sandy blonde hair

My eyes are almond shaped, my lips full and my bosom bold

I am not a hanger walking down someone elses catwalk

I walk more fiercely than the King of the Forest down every walkway

 

I am hips and thighs

that don’t discriminate against pies

I am soul food’s #1 fan but

I do the best I can, no lies

I am not a dry-celery-munching, hungry Monica

I am a stretch-mark-having, fried-chicken-and-waffle-loving Latifah comma Queen

 

Yes, I exercise;

That’s why I’m curvy and fit

Skinny girls can poke fun but I know my God made me perfect

I know these girls aren’t spiritually strong enough

to walk around with all these fluffy curves

They simply can’t handle it

Even with cellulite, I can still sit in my split

 

My weight cannot weigh me down

and my frown will be forever upside down

This thick skin I’m in is not a burden

It is tough and durable,

its fabulous strength incurable

 

I couldn’t before but now I can laugh

because I can run a 5K marathon

and still have enough energy to eat my fried Twinkie proudly

I can go shopping

for my next few outfits to the gym

while sporting cinnamon dough balls from Pretzel Time

 

Please, who’s got the time to count calories and

think of how perfect

I’m not,

when I could be eating my butter pecan ice cream

thinking how perfect this moment is?

 

I don’t need to be small enough

to fit through a doggy door like everyone else

I am unique with every switch of my hips,

from top to bottom,

down to my toe and fingertips

I don’t fit one half of my body

into a size 2, but that

sounds more like a personal problem

for you, Boo-Boo!

I don’t have a weight problem;

I’m not obese

But if you have a problem with my weight,

your opinion doesn’t matter

in the least

 

So peace, Northface fleece and hair grease

because my stretch-marked love cushions

are leaving you behind

with simple narrow-minded prejudices

When I go back home to the Motherland

to claim my queenly throne,

All you super models can sit back

and watch in envy

until the vultures pick your bones

 

Maya Angelou said it best about

being a woman phenomenally;

and when I look in the mirror,

that’s exactly what I see…