her book bag was larger than her body & the look on her face told me everything i needed to know,
she was walking beside whom i assumed was her father
it was pretty late in the evening but neither had coats
i silently wept for her as i drove past them both
i prayed she didn’t allow him to take advantage of her love
i prayed he understood how innocent and precious she REALLY was
i prayed he encouraged her to take pride in her sun-kissed skin
& beautifully coiled curls
i prayed even harder, he never told her he despised black girls
no matter how much of it was his truth
for she would then learn to hate herself
and soon realize the reflection was you
and how much of her life she intertwined the two
it would take years of
conquering her fears &
swimming pools of tears
for her to learn to love again
for her to learn true love has been,
and will always be
within,
her beautifully coiled curls
and her sun-kissed skin.
