I am black-ish
Nah I am black
Everything else is just liner notes.

I am a writer
Since age 10  I decided this
was my true passion in my life.

Shy girls must find their place

I wrote because I couldn’t speak
Afraid of my own voice
Ink against paper just seemed quite right.

So if I am black
and if I am a writer,
does that make me
a “black writer”?

I write about race,
My race writes
are the two always the same?

Throw in gender,
I become your token to say,
“Yes we care about diversity”
“Our black female writer
writes about race AND gender”

This little black girl started to write
Because it felt good.
It felt good not to feel invisible
Even if those words were just
written in notebooks no one opened up.

Race was discussed, but mere questions

To be black and to be a writer
you have to learn how you’ll
describe yourself
How do I find my space                                                                                                                                     to be dedicated to my people
without being under the guise of
whiteness?

How do I find any spaces where                                                                                                                 the color of my skin                                                                                                                                           is of importance,
but not the center of the universe?

My dedication is to my people,
yet my passions linger in other
corners, cracks, and windowsills.

I am black
And I am a writer
A black writer
Who is writing black.