exist(ing)

By Lena Habtu

My piece was inspired by an article in ZORA, a publication by and for women of color, entitled “Black Women Are Driving a New R&B Resistance” by Mary Retta. Black women’s identities have been degraded for so long that in attempts to uplift us, we’re portrayed as deities instead of human.

to be black and to be woman is to be

we throw around words:
goddess, queen
those are inherent descriptors in being black and being woman 
there is a special kind of magic in our resilience

but i want to shift the focus of the conversation
let black girls be normal
we exist beyond lazily constructed stereotypes and the pedestals of goddesses
there’s not a duality to black women, there’s multiplicity in transcending preconceived notions we’re human

the coconut oil that glistens on our skin drizzles into our eyes sometimes 
unadorned, unbothered
we create, we lay idle, we daydream
we laugh and laugh and laugh
and we’ll be raw and honest and true
we’re beautiful in our simplicity, stripped down to our truest, most uncomplicated selves 
we lay in bed, stare at the ceiling, and dream up revolutions and melodies at the same time

let us normalize ourselves just being ourselves
we’re simple beings
the notion that we’re regular shouldn’t be radical
amidst the trials and tribulations that accompany living as black and woman
it’d be nice if we could just
exist