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irma pielle Mar 2020
“why are you single?” they always seem to ask me
but it’s always the ones who never want me
in my entirety
cause when they first laid their eyes on me
it was “oh my god, I love your energy”
now it’s “you’re so independent you have no sense of dependency”
“your energy is so powerful” is what I heard when you first fell for me
now it’s “yo you’re so ambitious you never have time for we”
you loved that I was strong willed and embraced my femininity
now you hate that I speak up and wish I would sometimes just move a little more quietly
you adored the fact that I embraced my roots so tightly
now according to you I’m just a little “too” pro black and you wish I would tread a little more lightly
before you enjoyed how proper I was and how my words came so easily
now you loathe how all my words are correct politically
thé lové you had for me so deeply
is now the detest you hold for me so intensely
the ego you had that I once thought was manly
was actually what caused our downfall, tragically
I once thought that you could handle me
but I now see that you’re just filled with toxic masculinity
my personality was always too “strong” for you to deal with me
you always got mad when I just wanted equality
now that you’re gone and I’m free from “we”
please step back and watch the next man care for me properly
irma pielle Apr 2019
Let me tell y’all something
My blackness…
mhm MY blackness
whew chilleee when i tell y’all MY BLACK - NESS
that **** is MAGICAL
y'all heard me?
MA - GI - CAL
do yall see my skin?
The color? the undertones? it’s glowing huh?
this melanin i can guarantee you it aint nothing to play with
and definitely not something to slander
this **** is beautiful
I promise you my blackness is no lie
my blackness isn't what these people are portraying it to be
my blackness is not the poverty you see on tvs
it is not the violence they show you on the media
my blackness is not loud
not ghetto
not ratchet
not ill-mannered
and definitely not what
my blackness is forgiving but un forgetful
my blackness is what makes my skin so tough
its the reason I'm not here running around crying about these lil white kids calling me *******, ******, nier
y'all heard that? NI
ER
NI-ER
if I got to hear it y'all going to hear it too
NI**ER
speaks volumes huh
that word holds weight dont it
y'all see my hair
yea it may be in some braids right now but BA- BIEE
my hair is a crown that sits on my head
these naps that you tryna slander are actually alluring, irresistible kinks coils and curls
they defy the force of gravity and reach towards the gods and my ancestors that blessed me with this big beautiful hair and chocolaty skin that you yourself couldn't obtain on your death bed
My mouth the one you tryna call loud is me and the strength of a thousand voices fighting the system that was never broken but built in a way to shatter the souls of what
lets keep it going aight
finish the sentence my blackness is….

….

did y'all hear that?
our blackness is luxurious, victorious definitely not notorious, uplifting, persisting, y'all know this one forgiving but un forgetting, natural, masterful our **** is far from artificial, untamed, unashamed, worthy of all acclaim, raw, outlawed, in desperate need of equality before the law, we’re fighting we’re tired help us out y'all
give us this equality
y'all walking around not worrying about a **** thing
but you ever grew up in a system that was built to put you and your whole family behind metaphorical bars
your mom never told you to listen to the police regardless of the situation
not because they are of authority but because the people hired to protect our communities are trigger happy cops that want to see us dead
because of my blackness with the way things are I have to raise my son in a manner
irma pielle Apr 2019
Nights like this
when the sun goes down
the darkness comes
quietness sets in
and I am left with my own thoughts
flashbacks play in my head
I think about all the things that are my fault
I think about the night bone met marble
the night teeth met flesh  
all of the repressed memories seem to surface
like a molding body emerging from the pits of the ocean
only to remind anyone who's paying attention that it is still there  
except nobody knows  
no one is aware of the body except the ocean
the ocean bears the weight of the body all on its own
though the weight it bears seems minimal
compared to its vastness
the ocean appearing strong is quaking
as it struggles to hold the massive weight of the body which is lifeless
the ocean trying its hardest to use its waves to hopefully carry the body away
and bring the body under the mellow waters
the body almost like a sponge is soaking up water and becoming heavier
its soaking up the attributes of the ocean and almost becoming the ocean itself
the body mimicking the actions of a sponge getting larger and larger as it begins to consume more of the ocean
then it becomes heavy
the body has become overconfident
it doubted the strength of the ocean
the body sank all the way back to the pits where it came from
the whole time the body was calmly floating at the surface
no one seemed to notice the struggle the ocean was going through
but the ocean overcame the memories
but I, the ocean, still continue to hold onto the memories, they didn't disappear
they just didn't overcome me
Enjoy
irma pielle Oct 2018
BOO
BOO!
I’m sorry was that —
BOO!
OH pardon m—
BOO!
I’m sorry did I scare you?
but how …?
I simply walked into the room
I’m sorry, we’ve only made eye contact
and you're scared?
scared of what?
I’m not a phantom…
I’m not a spirit…
I’m not a gh —
wait… I get it
I see whats happening here
I’m black… i scared you because I'm black
you're scared of my skin color
you're scared of me so you clutch your bag as i walk by
you cross the street so you don't have to walk by me
you avoid eye contact
you kidnapped my people from our country and enslaved them
you kept us as property
you were scared of us so you made sure we stayed inferior
you instated segregation when you thought we would be free
when you thought we would come out on top you made sure we weren't equal
you made sure the black race was dehumanized
you made sure we couldn't get equal education
you made sure we couldn't drink from the same water fountains
you made sure the people who spoke out were executed
you made sure no matter what
my people were in constant fear for their lives…
no I am neither a ghost nor a ghoul
Im black
BOO!
i scared you because I'm black
irma pielle Jul 2018
I go to a school where
because of my skin color I’m trouble
because of my skin color I’m a minority
because of my skin color I’m a victim of “subtle” racism
because of my skin color ... I’m treated differently
I live in a society where
because of my skin color I'm paid less
because of my skin color I need to be more careful
because of my skin color … I’m a “****”
I live in a country where
because of my skin color I'm rude
because of my skin color I'm inferior
because of my skin color ugly
because of my skin color … Im not human
I live in a world where
because of my skin color my people were “animals”
because of my skin color my people were take and enslaved
because of my skin color my people stripped of their rights
because of my skin color my people .... weren’t even considered people
deny all you want it’s okay I know it’s all true it’s
because of my skin color...
irma pielle Jul 2018
Yea of course,
I,
me,
a woman,
a black woman
a darker black woman to be exact..
have black privilege because thats a thing you know
Its like when I walk into the store and get followed ..  yea
or that time i came back to school with my “extensions” and was told my hair grows fast
or maybe its when a white person comes up to me asking if i listen to 21 savage because “black people listen to rap right?”
or my favorite is telling my brother to be safe
as he heads out the door worrying he may be shot for reaching for his wallet
maybe its when i worry about whether or not my brother or cousins or father will be the next Trayvon martin or Eric garner or philando castille even
my black privilege
has allowed me to be labeled as loud and ratchet and sometimes a ***
because that what dark skin black girls are
right ..
yea ….
thats black privilege
its getting told I'm pretty for a black girl
its being told I'm intimidating and mean and ugly natured
but no no i swear its not cause your black
I love black people I'm not racist
Slavery happened years ago
Black people are racist too
im not racist i just don't like black people  
yea … I've heard it all.
No !
im not just another “angry black girl”
Im just a black girl
Im not mad don't get me wrong
I just wanted to inform you on my black privilege
I wanted to inform you that it is NOT okay to touch my hair
that is NOT  okay to say to mock “black slang”
It is not okay to say “are you speaking english” when i talk
It is not okay to put my people through hundreds of years of slavery and oppression and systemic racism and TELL US TO GET OVER IT!
Im sorry excuse my tone of voice
but can you blame me for getting worked up when I have to worry about whether or not my people will come home at night
yea …
thats MY black privilege

— The End —