I know where I belong 

black bird meant to sing your freedom song 

redemption  in the form of poetry

this be my testimony

 

Suffrage and self doubt try to overcome me

try to trap me under uncle Sam's glass ceiling  

strip me of everything dear and sacred to me  

but I know my truth and it's a beautiful thing   

 

Black girls be magic

cradling a world to her bosom that she has yet to understand  

She be both lover of men and friend to pen

Hard and sweet and easy to lose yourself in 

 

bearer of everyone's problems except her own 

'cause she never comes first 

she's just background noise 

that never seems to be heard

 

Like the 808 of a drum

feel my heartbeat  

feel the torching of bodies  

that fell from grace a little too early  

 

feel my insides contract and relax 

and contract and relax 

just like I used to do the tresses of my hair 

they told me I'd never be anything or go anywhere  

 

but I never hold it against them 

it's easy to judge a book by its cover 

when you can't read between the lines 

 

An instrument to the voiceless  

my specialty is serving food for thought 

realigned your reality

so that your vision is no longer hazy 

 

Can you see me now? 

mother of everything that refuses to be swept under the rug 

born into a family

where good was never good enough 

 

so I worked 

rubbed my hands raw 

pushed my limits to the test

just to make it this far 

 

now here I stand  

diploma in hand  

ready to take on the world

 Nothing left to do but await the metamorphosis of this resilient black girl