Brown

I was a little brown girl, 

I could not find myself on TV 

So I told myself who I was

I told my own story

I am a brown warrior

But I am pushed into the shadows

For my dark eyes and dark hair.

I am a brown goddess

Made of chocolate and cinnamon and coffee beans

I am of the color of the earth, of tree barks, of leaves in fall

I am what builds the world, what feeds it.

I am the brown mountains 

I hold forests and their fires and snow and its storms

Between my breasts, the sun goes to sleep

And douses me in golden honey as it rises.

I am a brown concoction, of walnuts, almonds, and burnt caramel

I am the final tone of bitterness on your tongue

I am the rust that will set upon the world

That tells me to look like milk.

I am now a brown woman

Who may not find makeup for my skin

But I wear a dark lip

That no red can ever match