THE WAR THAT WAS WAGED
By Mari Rice
We are the girls and women
The world enslaved
Put on the front line of the human trafficking trade
The world would mask and silence our screams
like filters on pictures
Embrace misogyny and abuse through
deceptive scriptures
Our private space was invaded by savage hands
Left with bloody breasts and storming eyes
The world would portray us as complicit in
our demise.
The world envied
Our beauty
Our birthing
Our thick black hair
Our full lips
Round buttocks
And ancient hips
The world despised
Our intellect, our faith
Resistance
Resilience
And
Strength
They knew that women and girls could not offer what they did not have.
So, the world attempted to strip us of our strength.
Waging a war against us. Attempting to leave us empty. With soaring rage.
However,
We held on to the resolve of
Harriet Tubman and
Ida B. Wells
We raised our fists like Angela Davis
and Assata Shakur
We went high when the world went low
like Michelle Obama
Sung songs of hurt and healing
as Jill Scott and Erykah Badu
Got into formation with Beyonce’s rhythm
Inspired by our people, our families, activist politicians, poets, and visionary vocalists
We formed Insurrections, rebellions, and demonstrations
Transforming the world that waged war against us
We demanded equality and justice!
By Mari Rice
We are the girls and women
The world enslaved
Put on the front line of the human trafficking trade
The world would mask and silence our screams
like filters on pictures
Embrace misogyny and abuse through
deceptive scriptures
Our private space was invaded by savage hands
Left with bloody breasts and storming eyes
The world would portray us as complicit in
our demise.
The world envied
Our beauty
Our birthing
Our thick black hair
Our full lips
Round buttocks
And ancient hips
The world despised
Our intellect, our faith
Resistance
Resilience
And
Strength
They knew that women and girls could not offer what they did not have.
So, the world attempted to strip us of our strength.
Waging a war against us. Attempting to leave us empty. With soaring rage.
However,
We held on to the resolve of
Harriet Tubman and
Ida B. Wells
We raised our fists like Angela Davis
and Assata Shakur
We went high when the world went low
like Michelle Obama
Sung songs of hurt and healing
as Jill Scott and Erykah Badu
Got into formation with Beyonce’s rhythm
Inspired by our people, our families, activist politicians, poets, and visionary vocalists
We formed Insurrections, rebellions, and demonstrations
Transforming the world that waged war against us
We demanded equality and justice!
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