Brown skin girl.
I swore that I would never become the woman
that seeks affirmation in the thickness between her thighs.
Eyes, heavily painted, burn,
as tears graze cheeks never kissed by men
that do not dwell inside her.
Deep,
like feelings suppressed,
and repossessed by men that bruise her,
…
>Henri Matisse, Pansies on a Table
Houses of Africa.
These are typical, middle class homes from different areas of Africa.This is Africa, our Africa
“A flower does not know guilt—not even the prettiest one.
She unfolds her petals softly, elegantly
Taking her time to reveal.
A flower does not feel obligation—the need to “do something” in order to grow.
She exists, and so she journeys from seed, from sprout, with simply the intention of being.
She gives her beauty, her colors, her essence to those tender enough to tend her.
A flower does not feel unworthy—not even the most fragrant.
She is radiant. She is vibrant. And she is there because it is her purpose.
A flower does not feel martyrdom and if crushed or plucked, she knows not the question of why.
For she recedes back into earth, back into dust, knowing that a flower is always a flower and all things in life are reborn.”
-Andrea Gallagher
