Brown Girls

A glimpse of myself
I see in the mirror
At first almost as if surprised
Maybe I thought I’d see another
Someone else staring back at me

A second look
No, she’s the same
The same as the day before

Some brown girls
Long to be white
I say, no, I don’t agree

Some brown girls
Long to be fair
Yellow, is what some say
They look with envy
Why couldn’t it be me?

I wash my face, examine it again
The darkness of my eyes
The roundness of my nose
The fullness of my lips
The curl of my hair
I claim them—own them
They are mine

Pretty was never a word
Used to describe me
I look again to see
See if I can see
What pretty is to me

A long time ago
I vowed to myself
When I got old enough
I would re-design myself

Make myself be who
I always wanted to be
Cleopatra
Maybe even Sheba

I look in my case
To find the right colors
With expectation
I apply some paint

Some may not approve
Be real—not fake
Real—that’s for each of us to discover
Discover what it takes
To make it on this journey

Wait one last touch
You look good I tell myself
I look again-- as if surprised
Taking one last look
To see if I approve

Pretty, you may not see
But I must say
I love the pretty brown girl
In the mirror-- staring back at me

God said let us make man
Make him in our own image
Created by God
His life dwelling inward

The image you see
Apart of His glory
Whatever He created—He called good
Including Brown Girls