Death Of The Strong Black Woman
 |
| Unknown Author |
Sisters… take heed…
Brothers… be strong enough to
recognize the seriousness of your sisters’ struggle…
recognize the seriousness of your sisters’ struggle…
On August 15, 1999, at 11:55 p.m.,
while struggling with the reality of being a human instead of a myth, the
strong black
while struggling with the reality of being a human instead of a myth, the
strong black
woman passed away,
Without the slightest bit of hoopla.
Medical sources say that she died of natural
causes, but those who knew
causes, but those who knew
& used her know she died from:
being silent when she should have been screaming, milling when she should have
been raging,
being silent when she should have been screaming, milling when she should have
been raging,
being sick & not wanting anyone
to know because her pain might inconvenience them.
to know because her pain might inconvenience them.
An overdose of other people clinging
on to her when she didn’t even have energy for herself.
on to her when she didn’t even have energy for herself.
She died from loving men who didn’t
love themselves and could only offer her a crippled reflection.
love themselves and could only offer her a crippled reflection.
She died from raising children alone
& being for not doing a complete job.
& being for not doing a complete job.
She died from the lies her
grandmother told her mother & her mother told her about life, men &
racism.
grandmother told her mother & her mother told her about life, men &
racism.
She died from being sexually abused
as a child and having to take that truth everywhere she went every day of her
life, exchanging the humiliation for guilt & back again.
as a child and having to take that truth everywhere she went every day of her
life, exchanging the humiliation for guilt & back again.
She died from being battered by
someone who claimed to love her & she allowed the battering to go on to
show
someone who claimed to love her & she allowed the battering to go on to
show
she luvvvvvvvvv’d him too.
She died from asphyxiation, coughing
up blood from secrets she kept trying to burn away instead of allowing herself
the kind of
up blood from secrets she kept trying to burn away instead of allowing herself
the kind of
nervous breakdown she was entitled
to, but only white girls could afford.
to, but only white girls could afford.
She died from being responsible,
because she was the last rung on the ladder & there was no one under her
she could dump on.
because she was the last rung on the ladder & there was no one under her
she could dump on.
The strong black woman is dead.
She died from the multiple births of
children she never really wanted but was forced to have by the strangling
morality
children she never really wanted but was forced to have by the strangling
morality
of those around her.
She died from being a mother at 15
& a
& a
grandmother at 30 and an ancestor at
45.
45.
She died from being
dragged down and sat upon by
UN-evolved women posing as sisters.
UN-evolved women posing as sisters.
She died from pretending the life she
was living was a Kodak moment instead of a 20th century, post-slavery
nightmare!
was living was a Kodak moment instead of a 20th century, post-slavery
nightmare!
She died from tolerating Mr. Pitiful,
just to have a man around the house.
just to have a man around the house.
She died from lack of orgasms because
she never learned what made her body happy & no one took the time to teach
her and sometimes, when she found arms that were tender, she died because they
belonged to the same gender.
she never learned what made her body happy & no one took the time to teach
her and sometimes, when she found arms that were tender, she died because they
belonged to the same gender.
She died from sacrificing herself for
everybody & everything when what she really wanted to do was be a singer, a
dancer, or
everybody & everything when what she really wanted to do was be a singer, a
dancer, or
some magnificent other.
She died from lies of omission
because
because
she didn’t want to bring the black
man down. She died from race memories of being snatched & snatched & raped
& snatched &sold & snatched & bred & snatched & whipped
& snatched &worked to death.
man down. She died from race memories of being snatched & snatched & raped
& snatched &sold & snatched & bred & snatched & whipped
& snatched &worked to death.
She die from tributes from her
counterparts who should have been matching her efforts instead of showering her
with dead
counterparts who should have been matching her efforts instead of showering her
with dead
words &empty songs.
She died from myths that would not
allow her to show weakness w/out being chastised by
allow her to show weakness w/out being chastised by
the lazy and hazy.
She died from hiding her real
feelings until they became monstrously hard & bitter enough to invade her
womb & breasts like angry tumors.
feelings until they became monstrously hard & bitter enough to invade her
womb & breasts like angry tumors.
She died from always lifting something
from heavy boxes to refrigerators.
from heavy boxes to refrigerators.
The strong black woman is dead.
She died from the punishments
received from being honest about life, racism & men.
received from being honest about life, racism & men.
She died from being called a bitch for
being verbal, a dyke for being assertive & a whore for picking her own
lovers.
being verbal, a dyke for being assertive & a whore for picking her own
lovers.
She died from never being enough of
what men wanted, or being too much for the men she wanted.
what men wanted, or being too much for the men she wanted.
She died from being too black
& died again for not being black
enuff.
enuff.
he died from castration every time
somebody thought of her as only a woman, or treated her like less than a man.
somebody thought of her as only a woman, or treated her like less than a man.
She died from being misinformed about
her mind, her body & the extent of her royal capabilities.
her mind, her body & the extent of her royal capabilities.
She died from knees pressed too
close together because respect was
never part of the foreplay that was being shoved at her. She died from
loneliness in birthing rooms & aloneness in abortion centers.
never part of the foreplay that was being shoved at her. She died from
loneliness in birthing rooms & aloneness in abortion centers.
She died of shock in
courtrooms where she sat, alone,
watching her children being legally lynched.
watching her children being legally lynched.
She died in bathrooms with her veins
busting open with self-hatred & neglect.
busting open with self-hatred & neglect.
She died in her mind, fighting life,
racism, & men, while her body was carted away & stashed in a human
warehouse for the spiritually mutilated.
racism, & men, while her body was carted away & stashed in a human
warehouse for the spiritually mutilated.
And sometimes
when she refused to die, when she
just refused to give in she was killed by
just refused to give in she was killed by
the lethal images of blonde hair,
blue eyes & flat butts, rejected to death by the O.J.’s, the Quincy’s,
& the Poitiers.
blue eyes & flat butts, rejected to death by the O.J.’s, the Quincy’s,
& the Poitiers.
Sometimes, she was stomped to death
by racism & sexism, executed by hi-tech ignorance while she carried the
family in her belly, the community on her
by racism & sexism, executed by hi-tech ignorance while she carried the
family in her belly, the community on her
head,
& the race on her
back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The strong silent, s**t-talking
black woman is dead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Or is she still alive and
kicking??????????????
I know I am still here.
