My Heaven Is My Happiness

My heaven is my happiness.
A sacred place I’ve searched for all of my life.
A freedom I can’t really describe,
But a freedom I’m grateful to have.
My heart and shoulders feel light at times,
As if I’ve been reborn.
I can see the world with new eyes,
And experience what life has to offer with open arms.
And then heaven’s eyes stop watching over me.
Just as my heart feels light sometimes,
At times my heart feels heavy.
It weeps as it’s full of sorrow.
Just as my shoulders feel light at times,
Sometimes I feel that the load is too much to bear.
Sometimes I feel trapped.
I feel stuck.
Feels like my time could be up.
Feeling faint as more beautiful bodies lie cold in the dust.
My heaven is my happiness.
But when will I ever leave hell?
You tell me.
And tell me the truth.

This Mahogany Brown

This deep color.
This mahogany brown.
Hue so lovely, so divine.
Beneath it, through the veins of glory,
Runs my history.
My story.
My place in this here world.
This mahogany brown.
Behold what was made.
With this shade, comes all of my kinks and curves
That Mother Africa proudly preserves.
This mahogany brown.
A shield of honor that I’ll always defend.
You emulate this deep, brown skin.
Yet, you never love the skin I’m in.