My Hair

Jesus had hair as thick as wool

So I guess nappiness is close to godliness

We were taught to hate the hair we have

They told us to crop down our fields of cotton

Burn it, salt the scalp so the ugliness it was supposed to be

could never grow again

Well, I demand to have my head forever in the clouds of my Afro

Because my hair is the sky,

vast and stretching outwards into something more

Defying the laws of nature and going against gravity,

Lifting me up past their hateful words and into the atmosphere

where my tight curls unravel to reveal the secrets of the universe

My eyes swing between the vines of my locs

Because my hair is the jungle

So wild and untamable that not even their perms

could straighten out the beautiful species of naps and kinks

that reside there

My hair is art

Crafted masterfully from the genes of my ancestors,

My edges are laid, smoothed down like the marble of a Greek busts

My naps are a brillant trapestry

woven with heavenly strands

Baby hair a black, thick sea

my mahogany skin as a shore

Appreciate my beach

Respect my mighty shore

My waves are overpowering and have sunked many ships

My hair is flawless

Despite what they say

I’m nappy and I’m proud