The Colors Within

I had to learn to love the color I live in.

Childhood memories of hate and berate clouded my ability to justly appreciate.

Now I sit and contemplate how my six generations of brown, tan, mocha, and black lived in lack, without knowledge of self.

How they put self-love on the shelf and replaced it with hate.

Not knowing they were great.

The hate my skin seemed to congregate caused pretty brown girls like me to emasculate. There was no escape but to go within and find that I am not my skin.

I am not the shell that covers this queen struggling to be seen.

I am the living spirit of my ancestors and a kiss from the sun.

I radiate beauty from my inner core that shines so bright it's hard to ignore.

I am pure unadulterated love, a vision of perfection, and if you see only my skin then you’ve totally missed the lesson.