She Shall Rise
Written by Sarah Fox
Darkness closes in,
As dark as her velvet skin.
Pressures push from every side,
With all these expectations,
She is forced to hide her pride.
Her femininity is her freedom, Her melanin is her beauty…
Wide hips, luscious lips,
The coils of her curls,
Her shape makes heads whirl,
She’s forced to hide her beauty,
Her image is rejected by society.
She’s told to be strong,
She’s told to put on a brave face,
She’s told to stay out of the sun,
She’s told to know her place.
She crumbles under the weight of false standards,
She is buried by the ashes of racism and self-loathing,
Her shoulders cower under the burden that keeps her from flying,
Her femininity is her freedom,
Her melanin is her beauty,
She hold her head up high,
Out of the ashes of pain and sorrow,
Like a phoenix soaring in the sky,
She shall rise.
She shall rise
Higher than the burdens that she carries,
She shall rise
Higher than the shackles of societial norms,
She shall rise
Higher than the ashes of brokenness and pain,
She shall rise
Higher than the words that cut her pride,
She shall rise
Doubt cannot defeat her,
Shame cannot surpass her,
Hate cannot suppress her,
She is more than her curls,
She is more than her dark skin,
She is a warrior,
She is more than a conqueror,
She is pressing toward her prize,
She is filled with hope and confidence,
For she knows that she will rise.
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