A fat black girl in a skinny white woman’s world
That’s where it all started
Looking to be accepted into society’s standards
Never finding myself aimed towards the target
12th grade…
Every year, the same cliché black history month program
The choir sings a few more negro spirituals than usual
And you can hear a little more soul from the band
But this year was different.. Because I was in it!
Given the task of reciting Phenomenal Woman
In an auditorium full of people, I was afraid
Only 4 days to bring Maya Angelou’s words to life
Before I realized it, I was on stage
I found myself saying “It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.”
However, this time it was different.
No longer timid, and channeling my inner phenomenal woman
I was gliding across the stage, recreating the motions, and dazzling the audience
“It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.”
The audience murmured as I spoke so confidently and flipped my extensions
They were amazed with my performance, and I wasn’t even finished!
As I finished out the poem, emphasizing how “I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.”
I received a standing ovation. The crowd went crazy!!
From then on I knew that performing poetry was for me.
I decided to enter a talent show in college, back in Fall 2014
I came in second place, with a poem I wrote about my journey
Of how hard it was to lose a father, a grandmother, and grieving alone so far from home, stuck in DC
My words went over well as I came in second place
And I knew from that moment on, I had come into future’s fate
I can never leave poetry or performing behind
I’m a story teller, I am a visual artist for the mind