Raising Black Girls
A poem by Lavinia Jackson
Pasta swimming in red soup
Shouldn’t spell out fear
It should taste like comfort
Microwaved
Waiting for you to be
The work, too.
Working it out
Presses curls straight
Drapes Easter fabric
Over innocence
Trying to salvage the space
Between patriarchy
And pretty.
Pretty has much to do
Measured in inches and hues
4c distant
Fat phobic
Friendly
Fawning to be
Magazine worthy
Video Vixen free.
You are freer than me
Spelling beyond
The margins
Making terrific out of
Tears and truth
Your magic is big enough to run
The underground railroad
And make it your home
Add salt to the bowl
So the letters can swell
And capitalize. Letters
That make up names
Terrifyingly pretty
Too beautiful for rape
And disregard to steal;
Empty cans fly further
Than soup filled.
Who defends you
when the fight is over?
Does your softness sound
Like keys to an empty house
Waiting on me?
Lavinia Jackson, aka Mama Love, is an award winning poet and author, based in Greensboro, NC. She’s the mom of 3 young, gifted, and Black young women. You can find more of her writing at https://inkandpurpose.blogspot.com/
