BLACK

I am uncertainty and definition

Crowned with a wilting wreath to parade this circle of onus

Where I have been made iron from earthen

In defense of this caramel gloss that polishes me.

Oh watchers of the day and of the night!

Tell me then my sin

For which i have been christened villain

To be raked over coal and scathed

Undeserving of the frill and gratification.

Do you not see?

The beauty borne from this dust is of transcedent artistry

Molded and sculpted

Only matched by one from the same potter

For we are of one flavor

Made to filter and flourish.

I am blood and bone

But mostly skin

This blackness is my salvation

For while it may not be the sun you rise to at dawn

It is the moon you speak to at dusk

To salve and to redeem.

Will the glaze ever fall off?

If it may, pitch then a little closer and see.

See!

I am black and black

Unapologetically theistic to the glory of me

Here lays my pride

If you do not see it, you do not see me!

                                                                                           --Shula