My Curls

My curls are everything you wish you knew about me

Even though it won’t reveal my inner mystery

My hair means young, it means wild, it means free.

My black Latina nature sometimes precedes my personality

People try to tell me who I am and they whisper, “I bet she…”

Simultaneously BOXing up my attitude and carefully,

Perfecting my response so they can see

The standard look of “NO!! My curls are everything you WISH you knew about me”.

They say, “I know about you kind of girls…” but the only one who can enlighten me about me, is ME.

I am not a nineties wannabe Jenny from the Block,

I'm not Shakira if she were an Amazon on the catwalk

I'm not Beyonce before Jay Z gave her the “ROC”

Maybe A young Celia Cruz, a black Latina facing profiled difficulties ensued

Because through her voice- empowerment was heard

Despite the discouraging words

I wish I were Maya Angelou when she had a little salsa added to her phenomenal youth.

All these women fought through dance and rhyme

entertaining you but really educating you

That the divine does not belong to just one stereotype

But a profound group of beings.

My hair means young Goddess, it means wildly Loyal, it means freely Amazing.

My curls exude confidence, intelligence, and beauty;

They keep secrets, create dreams, and remind me how persistent I need to be

My hair defines me. But not as you define it, it is in the way I do.

I am everything I believe my hair means

And boo...

My curls are everything you WISH you knew about me!

History portrays Afro-Latinas as fierce, filled with fire, labeled as dangerous.

Maybe we’re that way because society won’t let us BE

Being compared constantly, fighting for an identity

Having to Jump on the defense just because there's more me-la-nin,

Or the ones who dissolve in the sea of privilege.

As if the validity in my curl is Somehow any dif-ferr-rent

As if it will tell you I'm some kind of belligerent

As if it will tell you I'm not reliant or innocent

As if it will tell you I'm anything less than magnificent

Can I just be me? This imperfect human that is capable of flawless perfection.

I was born to beee. Would you believe me if I said

My hair means love, it means wild, it means free?

I’m tired of societal shackles,

What they expect my professional hair should be,

How the myth that a slick back magically gets you the clean respect of a thousand men,

Versus being able to see a beautiful visual of a History lesson,

In the form of a royal Mane. TUH

The adolescent,

The ignorant, they're all the same

And the weak could never handle the curves of what seems like a dangerous road theyve heard before.

I love Ourrrr nappy headed hair-

From 3B to the amazing 4C alone intimidates no matter the where.

Gooood…. Leeet iiit!!!!

Someone asks me "You straight?"

Nah I'm not (laugh) I mean not today HAHA my hair is in its natural state, I took the time to get to know me.

ISSA crown you see, The insight is rich so let me recap the story

Nature mixed and mixed until it made a race of people that could bear the pain without a hitch.

We braid to tell the secrets of our pain

We greased scalps to let the resistance slip in vain

The traces of our origin shows we were made with passion and spiritually ordained

The swirls mean there was struggle but alas the enlightenment.

I Love My curls when they're untamed and frizzy

It shows our ambition- our resiliency

Even when they are unkempt, and unruly

And yes I'll braid them sometimes for protection but the lesson is in my history.

My curls are everything YOU WISH you knew about me

My hair means love, it means wild, it means free!!

--¶oeticSOULdier