Note to Self

By Mikayla Augustin

“Note to Self” is a poem that was written in the midst of a wave of high self-esteem that shows itself rarely. This is when the power of Melanin Beauty reveals itself unapologetically.

One
Beauty given straight to her
She’s a gift from God
Wait i messed up the first line
Beauty is her first name
She gave it meaning
There’s nothing to compare

Two
Language owned
Projected in different ways
Neck Rolls aren’t to be taken lightly
Hand Gestures makes our point wildly
We have our own grammar
Dictionary thicker than anything made about us to make us frown

Three
Essential Hair
A needed topic of its own
May i say
I’ll let you touch it before you speak
But don’t look at me like i’m a petting zoo animal

Four
Sun Kissed by the sun so much
Yea i’m dark as hell
The sun couldn’t help itself
It’s addicted to melanin
Wanted to share that type of love with the world
It gave us different shades

You see a room full of black women
You gotta take a breath
A step
A sip of water
Take a seat
It’s okay, we get it
The beauty is so mesmerizing, it knocks the breath out of you
Just like an 18-mile run
Run down
Get a camera
A picture last longer

Black Women
Of all shades
all sizes
With nothing but positivity is a sight to be seen everyone

Five
Sacrifice
Something embedded into our lives
From black baby to black woman
It’s like a weird middle name
It’ll bring you pain
But makes the victory from your history so much better

Live, Do your thing
You’re so blessed to be who you are
You’re a dark young lady shipped from heaven
Your pain ain’t nothing but a chapter
A chapter to make the history books made about you much better

Merge the fork in the road
Make it your own
You’re a goddess
Don’t let anybody sit in your throne

Take your joy back
And note to self
Beauty is within the eyes of the holder
And baby girl
You’re isis
Fuck if the world falls for you