Annie Ruth - A Black woman nothing else

A Black Woman, Nothing Else
There used to be a time when I was ashamed of my skin. I received tormenting jokes from all of my friends. Of course it wasn't done to make me feel this way but being Black gave me much dismay. "African, charcoal, black baby", I would hear but no one even noticed or knew that I had silent tears. Those names became nicknames and I'd hear them everyday at school 'cause when I was young and growing up, I'd play by my peers' rules. One day when I was still young my father left us all and married a white woman who beckoned his every call. I was really ashamed of my skin then; I thought it was very bad. I thought the white woman had something, which I could never have. But one day when I was still young, I met a Black lady darker than I was. She cherished and boasted that her color was a gift from above. She told me that
I was beautiful-something no one had ever done. She said, "your skin is so black and smooth, which shows the perfecting of the sun." She said, "to match that pretty black skin your teeth are white as snow and I'm sure that you will show them everywhere that you go"

Everyday she would tell me this and her words began to spread. They came from other people I never even met. The words of my friends changed to, "let me feel your face and let me see you grin, for sister you are beautiful-be proud of the color of your skin." Now, 'm proud of the color of my skin though obstacles it may bring. I proclaim to the world that I am a Black Woman, the element of spring.
I blossom with happiness and pride within myself for I am a Black Woman and I wish to be nothing else.
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