Warm cocoa butter kisses graze the skin

Its dark complexion craves attention

Denial of it true beauty is a deadly sin

But its tale of bravery is worth a mention

It covers me in its dark shield

Against a world of white and judgment

I resented it and the sneers it would yield

This entire time I thought of it as a punishment

I no longer wish for the ivory white

I now relish in the tones of the night