we got this idea of
her
as warrior
perpetuated by her words and power

we got
chocolate locs like bridge cables
reassuring symbols of support from above

we got this engrained in us since we first met
black womanhood
angela basset arms and steel will
stereotyped sass that
we choose to revel in
because it reaffirms life
it reaffirms strength in the face of adversity

but it also implies
that all adversity is created equal
that she's fine with raising babies
that she's fine with i don't need no man
that she's fine with standing up to authority and
providing moral direction and
poverty is homier because we got
the black woman backbone

and she
don't cry
in the eye
of others

and she
don't come looking
for pats on the back
when she pulls herself up

and she
don't need
what we
think we need
cause she got
that inner strength that comes with the ghetto inside.

fuck that.

she don't
celebrate poverty
she makes her dough
her suffer ain't the suffer
cast on her through the same old eyes
her suffer ain't no baby daddy
her skin don't make her unwed mom

folks look to her for strength
cause she don't have none of the baggage
they want to associate her with

she never did

she got
sad

she got
the sad that
comes from doubt
the sad that comes
from humanity
and
she don't show
no sense of sad
cause she don't see
her negatives adding up
the way folks expect

she wraps herself in
superwoman cloth

and sits
in bed
till noon