Blue eyes sitting
Under the tamarind tree,
Listening to the nothingness
That flowed around her.
Her skin was not
Ripe like a butter squash,
But as black as
The underside of
The black bird's wing.
Yet her eyes were
As blue as the
Caribbean Sea,
Two pools set
In loamy soil.
People would come
To look, acting as
Though they were
Prone to dropping in
At her aunt's house.
They would come looking
For the black girl with
Blue eyes, but
They did not look,
They would stare.
And she would stare back,
Meeting the eyes of
Babes and young ones,
Grown folk and elders,
Never dropping her chin
In humility or embarrassment.
It would be soon after
That they would leave,
Saying among themselves
That it was as though
She was looking
Into their souls.
She did though,
She saw their curiosity,
Their vulnerability,
Their hopes and fears.
She saw their souls
Because she dared to look.
She dared to look beyond
The clothes they wore,
The words they said,
The masks they wore
And she saw them for
Who the were.
She saw them and
Accepted them.
She accepted that
They were scared,
They want to be loved,
They did not have
All the answers to
Life's questions.
She also accepted that
They may not accept her
They may not see beyond
Her black skin or
Her blue eyes.
She accepted it
Because it didn't matter
To her, all that mattered
Was she accepted herself,
She accepted who and
What she was.
Black girl with
Blue eyes sitting
Under the tamarind tree,
Listening to the nothingness
Telling her that
She was beautiful.
Under the tamarind tree,
Listening to the nothingness
That flowed around her.
Her skin was not
Ripe like a butter squash,
But as black as
The underside of
The black bird's wing.
Yet her eyes were
As blue as the
Caribbean Sea,
Two pools set
In loamy soil.
People would come
To look, acting as
Though they were
Prone to dropping in
At her aunt's house.
They would come looking
For the black girl with
Blue eyes, but
They did not look,
They would stare.
And she would stare back,
Meeting the eyes of
Babes and young ones,
Grown folk and elders,
Never dropping her chin
In humility or embarrassment.
It would be soon after
That they would leave,
Saying among themselves
That it was as though
She was looking
Into their souls.
She did though,
She saw their curiosity,
Their vulnerability,
Their hopes and fears.
She saw their souls
Because she dared to look.
She dared to look beyond
The clothes they wore,
The words they said,
The masks they wore
And she saw them for
Who the were.
She saw them and
Accepted them.
She accepted that
They were scared,
They want to be loved,
They did not have
All the answers to
Life's questions.
She also accepted that
They may not accept her
They may not see beyond
Her black skin or
Her blue eyes.
She accepted it
Because it didn't matter
To her, all that mattered
Was she accepted herself,
She accepted who and
What she was.
Black girl with
Blue eyes sitting
Under the tamarind tree,
Listening to the nothingness
Telling her that
She was beautiful.
----------
Kimolisa Mings was born on the small island of Antigua. She
started writing poetry after she was encouraged to do so by he English teacher,
Ms. Joseph. Although her body of work grew with the passing of years, it was
only in 2005 that Kimolisa started to share her work at local open mic events.
In 2008, she started a blog called Kim or Lisa where one can find Kimolisa's
older poems and her latest poems. In 2011, she won the 2011 Independence Literary
Award for poetry in the adult division. In 2012, one of her poems was featured
in When A Woman Moans, a local twist on the Vagina Monologues. Kimolisa is now
working on her first collection of poems which will be self-published.
2 comments:
Congratulations, Kim. Hope to read more of your work.
Nice striking imagery.
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