SELF-PORTRAIT

My lashes are long and curvy

like a river that swerves into a new route

My nose is a grand gesture of clarity

It dips down into my lips

like a bird swooping down

for a drink of water,

from a calm river that glistens beneath the sun

My lips are a map that point

north, south, east, and west

Here, I sit and I laugh at the thought

of being seen as larger than I sometimes feel

The sun comes out when I smile,

even with my mouth closed,

Oh, it makes me think of all of the people

I’ve made smile,

and how I may have made them feel

My eyes look into newness

The bask in the buildings they see,

spread out, stretched around this city

My ears keep me connected to the happenings that live

beneath the surface of people,

as well as the music that plays

beneath their voices

My voice is a pathway;

a place where I can rest

and free myself from thoughts that can take me on a rollercoaster

My voice keeps me grounded

It holds a garden

filled with flowers of all kinds of colors

My skin is dark and kissed by sunlight

Oh, they stop and stare

Oh, they know this is love

Oh, how intimidating love can be

Oh, how much I value love

My face, my head, are proof

that I come from my mother

It is beautiful and righteous

My heart is what makes me…me

and I make sure to care for it

Sweet whispers of joy and gratitude

live inside

It is a blissful ocean,

a chariot I can trust,

no matter what the world seems to say