What is black?
And, what does it feel like?
Black. maybe its constriction in dark, damp chambers,
and gusts of fresh air once you've come to face the sun.

Or, could it be the thorns in your sides
the eyes on your back,
the tears and sweat that melt you back to size just when you thought you could escape...

Perhaps its the heart to keep going.

Maybe black is
singing,
congregating,
laughing,
eating,
reading,
learning,
creating,
thriving,
all when you were told not to,
and when you thought you had no choice but to listen.

So you chose not to.
Defiant ones, aren't we?
Like when Mom told me not to explore the path beyond the house,
So I found a friend and we explored mountains...
and we brought glinting trinkets of the earth back home to Mom anyway.
Black is honor.

Maybe black is as tough as the darkest elephant in the room,
always noticed
always avoided
sitting stagnantly as is until someone brings her in.
Or, perhaps black is the force that pushes her to jump in,
soaring wide enough to bring others with her since...
She just couldn't wait any longer for someone to reach out.
Black is confidence.
Black is faith.

Mmm..That'll be enough to get you killed, boy.
So he was.

And we wept,
And we're confused,
And we're angry,
And something...needs...
To change.

Black is the breaking point,
the creation out of distress,
eliminating walls once you've reached them,
Black is beyond the realm of our understanding.

I'm human,
I'm black.
Black is human.

and I am just one.

Your eyes,
A mosaic of images, stories,
I can see them in light
And they'll adjust in the dark, too.
Your skin glitters in shade.
Your blood, warm with years
bubbling with more.

Tell me,
What is Black
and
What does it

feel like?