I became lost in translation at thirteen

when I forgot what it meant to be brown

At thirteen I fell in love with books

Books, poems, songs, riddles, dreams

But these things weren't of people that looked like me.

At thirteen my mind couldn't fathom the world out there

that brown women could rap, sing , and write banging poetry

I didn't discover this till I left my small world

And entered a community of writers that remesmbled me

Physically, spiritually, held my spirit and soul in their palms.

When I learned that my brown skin was apart of my voice

that it helped shaped my identity

I could create a world of characters and stories

that would influence other little brown girls

And teach them that they can do it too.

Poetry filled the void within me 

that no other form of creative expression could.