Queen Brackett
Weight on a Black Woman
There are times her strength becomes her weakness
because no one wants to help.
The melanin in her skin is viewed as dumbbells and the darker the skin
the more that she can take,
but at what point do we stop putting on more weight?
Her beauty is that she remains beautiful under pressure
and her class is unmatched and sometimes imitated,
but when she has to bear worlds on her shoulders, unprotected,
those worlds mock her for being frustrated.
How are we elated to steal her attitude,
replicate her sense of style,
adapt to her cooking, but be stingy with our gratitude?
If you have survived on this planet, she is a part of you.
Her name is Elizabeth Freeman
Maya Angelou
Nina Simone
Aretha Franklin
Ruby Bridges
Angela Davis
Michelle, Kamala,
your aunty, your sister, your pastor, your teacher, your mama.
Her strength is not to be taken for granted,
so when you see her standing, don’t leave her stranded.
It’s true that she can save this planet single-handed,
but love on her, be kind to her, help her–
she hates to have to bear the weight of worlds on her shoulders.
His taste was like chocolate
But his inside was like death
The sight of him was sweet to my eyes and to my mind
He was the perfection that I dreamt about
The cloud of his empty promises
Overcast my charity of sense
And my judgment was dismantled
By the strength of his affection
Every direction I looked, I saw that the resolution to the equation
Was me and him forever
I thought forever was he and me doing ‘we’ stuff.
But the ‘he’ that the people see
Wasn’t the ‘he’ that he wanted me to see
And here I am, believing a mirage of
The images that I told him I wanted in a man
So he fed me the chocolate
To prevent me from seeing the death of
My self-esteem and restraint
He blocked the sinner so I could see the saint
But he wanted me to only taste the chocolate
But his inside was like death
The sight of him was sweet to my eyes
But with his consumption
Guess who died.
Queen Brackett is a native of Birmingham. She has performed throughout the country, and she has received 3 National Poetry Awards. Her album, The Evolution of a Lyricist reached the top 25 on iTunes within a month of its release. Queen and her husband own the Majesty Lounge of Bessemer, Alabama, the longest running poetry lounge in the city.