a love letter
A love letter to Black Women.
But perhaps for any woman who has carried too much for too long.
This is your permission to let it go.
You do not have to carry the pain of the world on your shoulders
You do not have to yell, scream, beg "please no more" for them to hear you,
You do not have to be a martyr and die a thousand deaths, wondering: "What about me?"
You do not have to explain yourself when they willfully choose to misunderstand you,
You do not have to prove yourself when they choose to ignore you,
You do not have to make yourself pleasing to be considered beautiful,
You do not have to change your god to be relatable,
You do not have to do anything to be loved.
It hurts me to see you smile when you want to cry.
It hurts me to see you ask for help, and no one comes to your aid,
It hurts me to see you beg, when all you do is give.
It hurts me to see you reduced and ridiculed, as if this world could live without your heart.
Please put the bags down;
the ones around your neck choking your breath,
the one on your shoulders and back, pulling you backwards,
the ones around your hips, opening without your consent.
Put them down-
All of them, we are finished carrying the load of the world by ourselves.
It is time to rest,
to remember the laughter in our hearts,
the tenderness of our hands, not always being forced to do what we must, and not what we need.
It is time to remember,
We are delicate and vulnerable,
not only hard and strong.
It is time to leave behind
the stories and assumptions placed on us,
cloaks of heaviness and sacred woundings, our greetings to this world.
It is time to shake off and remove the targets on our backs, defiling our spirits with their presence.
It is time to know;
the joy of freedom
the joy wonder
the joy of love
the joy of being
the joy of laughter
the joy of abundance
the joy of being first
the joy of being human.
PLEASE PUT THE BAGS DOWN
Do not answer the call asking you for help only to bring you down.
Do not answer the call, placing targets on your back.
Do not answer any call other than the one of your own happiness
IT IS TIME
IT IS TIME.
*Image found on Pinterest. All Rights belong to the original creators. *