the thing that you have to understand about Power

is that it always has a consequence. 

that the crown that my ancestors placed on my head

carries the Iron of their chains, contains the rubies of their blood, inlaid with pearls the color of exposed bone; that the ring passed down, the one resting upon my finger was made from the gold of the same place they were stolen from, 

the home i’ve never seen. crowned the queen of an unknown nation. 

I didn’t start this war. 

the one that lies in my aching bones, the one in the very beating of my heart

I didn’t start the fire. 

the one that burns underneath my earth-colored skin, the one that made me

more flame than person 

I inherited them. 

I didn’t start them, but they live within me. 

maybe that’s why I make my words a weapon, my kindness a shield. why i guard the people i love so closely, why i’m so defensive, why i’ve done sports my whole life because i need an outlet and why i’m so good at running, why i’m aggressive, and attack dog, why i bite, why i cry in silence, why i don’t sleep, why i can’t relax unless i’m with people i know are safe, why i unconsciously look around a room to calculate the closest exit, why i code-switch, why i am the way i am. 

They call us “angry black girls”. 

because of course it’s too humanizing to call us “Women”. 

because of course our fear and fury are unjustified. 

Like they didn’t make it this way

Like we didn’t inherit the war & the fire & the pain & the hunger & the rage 

Like we aren’t born into a world that refuses to see our beauty & brilliance & value

Like we don’t see people that we love or people like us on the news or another hashtag because they were victim to the system that puts us down like dogs, but at least dogs get euthanized privately instead of their brutal deaths being recorded and going viral so that not only do people that look like the victims have to live in even more fear but their families don’t get to have peace, seeing death everywhere

Like we weren’t forced to live in a country where the reality of death could occur at any white discomfort or boredom  

Like we don’t get told every day that no matter how hard we have worked and how much we have earned respect, that we deserve nothing 

Like we aren’t the only black kid or girl in an advanced classroom at a white school because black brilliance in black community's schools are underfunded by the government 

Like we don’t get stared at for every diversity or inclusion initiative, stared at every black history month, stared at every school-mandated slavery unit in history class

Like we aren’t penalized every day for daring to breathe, to exist, to live 

the thing you have to understand about Power 

is that there is always a consequence. 

that because of the pride & joy & beauty & brilliance that you find in yourself, 

the World will do whatever it can to destroy you. 

that because your ancestors lived & fought and bled and thrived and built a life & lived 

that it is your duty to them to thrive and fight and live. 

that the crown and the ring are passed to you with the burden of the world on your shoulders

it means that it is your turn to carry out the tradition passed down and become the next Atlas. 

just like your great-great-grandmothers, your great-grandmothers, your grandmothers, your aunts, your mom, your sister. 

that because they fought to give you power, you have to fight to protect it. 

                                                             the Future in your hands, the weight on your back.