Dear African Woman - Brenda Dokmah Bakomora

Dear African Woman

If I haven’t told you that you are beautiful, you are

If I haven’t told you that your smile is lovely, it is

If I havent told you that your dark skin

is more beautiful than the night sky, it is

Dear African Woman

Only you can understand

what it means to be an African queen

What is means to be black, bold and beautiful

Dear African Woman

For centuries you have been told

that your place is in the kitchen

You have been boxed to build your world

right in the shadows of men

And your gifts, they are buried with the umbilical chords

of your children yet to be born

You have worked the fields and cooked the meals

You have cared for the children and fed the men

You have been the backbone of this continent

Yet, my dear African Woman

you do not know who you are

You are the light that shines in the darkness

The beacon that restores hope into our hearts

The source of strength and courage

An embodiment of masculinity and feminity

The perfect being

You are the home keeper, the nation builder

the tear wiper, the smile giver

the support system and life line of the continent

You are more beautiful than a flower in the Savannah

Your smile is like falling snow on a drought striken land

Your kinky Afro is like the soft cushions of clouds in the sky

You come in many shades:

Beige, Chocolate, Caramel, Mocha

Hazel nut, Honey, Espresso, Ivory, Olive, Ebony

You are sweeter than Oreo’s dunked in milk

You are warmer than hot cocoa

in the dry season during a storm

You are goodness

You are wonder

You are grace

You are kindness

You are fearless

You are lovely

All wrapped in one

Dear African Woman, no matter where you are

No matter how you think you look

no matter how you see yourself

you are a special gift to the world

Rise up and make that change in the world

Be that difference

Lift your head high like the queen you are meant to be

For you are good enough

You are strong enough

You are beautiful enough

And my dear African Woman

You are just enough

---

Brenda Dokmah Bakomora (21st century) Ghana

Source: AfroWomenPoetry