MY RELATIONSHIP WITH AUDACITY

A reflective rant inspired by a writing prompt

Warning! The audio may be a likkle ridiculous…

So it happened again. I was reading

Rachel Leeke Alexis

recent post:

A Change is Underway

and felt prompted to riff and rant a poem of my own about my relationship with AUDACITY.

So I did what I do and just let it ramble out of me and this is what came of it…

I have the audacity to be tomboy and a beauty queen. Cackles

AUDACITY

I was born with audacity;

it’s in my DNA.

I was birthed with the audacity to be me

from the very first day.

Against the odds of being perceived as odd;

I leaned into it.

I didn’t come here to be the same,

and I refused to be persecuted or muted;

try as they did, with all their might.

My audacity to claim my birthright —

namely, dominion and abundance —

seemingly took up more space than sunlight.

“Who do you think you are?”

I’m a child of The Most High,

can’t an Ancestor come get her piece of phi?

As a child, I had the audacity to look at the sky

and ask it to refrain,

“Please wait 30 minutes before you rain.”

The other kids scoffed;

the rain immediately stopped.

They say, “how dare you think you’re to blame?”

I had the audacity to use my complexion

to be heard by oppressors for their correction;

to fool them with SKIN till they heard my VOICE.

Oh, the audacity to be a black girl with light skin!

What audacity to make that choice!

I had the audacity to revel in that sin;

Raging against the machine,

Biting that hand that wanted to feed me

lies about my people,

bribes to sell them out,

ties to their entitled success

if I would simply agree to undress my audacity.

Cuz I had the audacity to tell em

“You aint original.”

I had the audacity to remind em

“You weren’t here first.”

I have the audacity to walk like a God

and uncover ancient paths to trod.

My audacity fears no evil

cuz evil feared me first.

My audacity is what writes out these words.

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