I have studied the tight curls on the back of your neck – Audre Lorde

That proudly screams I am a black woman

In a society that breaks their back

trying to emulate something that is supposed to come naturally

But does it I question

as the pitchfork cries war while sparring with an undefeated force

in a historic battle of the mane.

Or as my fingers become fragile and brittle as they slave away

To afford the necessities of life that comes in a bottle

Labeled all natural

Sulfate Free

Kind of like I am supposed to be

Free

But it has become such a comical concept

Because even when I am free from other races 
I am not free from my own

Where natural is life

And relaxers are betrayal

Brought on by Caucasians

Who didn’t know our hairs worth

Only what they deem beautiful

But what if it is also what I see as beautiful

Will that tight curl on the back of your neck

So, different from the straight on the back of mine

Deem me unfit

To be a true African American