"You deserve it."


                                                          "Sometimes I just don't feel like I do."


"Sometimes we all feel like we don't."


                                                                                                             "Yeah..."


"That's why we call them blessings."

When the path ahead is dark, find the light inside:
Believe in yourself and let your heart be your guide.
Reach out through the darkness and take my hand,
I will bring you from stormy seas onto dry land.
Keep the faith, the flame of hope alive
And, though you don't know the way, you will arrive.
Listen to your heart beating in your chest
Have you ever wondered how much you are blessed?
Feel my heart beat just like yours
That, when you are close, it swoops and soars.
What is this feeling? It's painful, and it longs.
I long to find a home, a place my heart belongs.
It's a feeling so tender, so clear and real
Could it be love that I now feel?
You give me joy, you are my life
My life is yours. Will you be my wife?
I promise to live as your love deserves:
Walking together in straight roads and curves.
I promise to cherish and protect you every day
To communicate and listen, to comfort and pray.
You have my heart, you are my life. The choice is yours to make:
Will we join together in heart and hand and take the leap of faith?

He made the sun to shine for you
The grass, green and the sky so blue
He made you the stars to point the way home;
There for you wherever you roam.
He made the wind to dance in your hair
He gave us a love that we could share
He gave you the sea to ebb and flow
He gave you the rain to make life grow
He gave you the trees to heaven reaching
He gave you the wisdom for little ones' teaching
He gave you a heart made of pure gold
He gave you a Spirit strong and bold
He gave you this gift so we could adore
He gave you His life and so much more
He gave you all this from a love so divine
Let us give to him our heart, soul, and mind

I was born with a deficiency.
& I smile because of it.
Fireworks that light up the sky.
Don’t explode color for me.
The seven colors of the rainbow.
Don’t lay out Roy G Biv for me.
Multifunctional digital cameras.
Don’t upload colorized for me.
The fireworks.
The rainbows.
The cameras.
All come out the same.
Colorless.
I smile because I am used to it.
Because it shows me the world for what it is.
I’m not distracted by the flashing lights.
Or the colorful reflection after the rain.
Not even the still moments of a photo.
So I see what’s real.


I live with a deficiency.
& I smile because of it.
I will never know the color of her hair.
As the wind blows it during a cool summer day.
I will never know the color of her eyes.
As the sun allows them to shine with beauty.
I will never witness her skin tone.
My deficiency doesn’t allow it.
I smile because I’m used to it.
Because it shows me who she really is.
The very essence of what makes her glow.
What my deficiency does allow.
I see her soul.
What her hair cannot conger.
I see her heart.
What her eyes cannot frame.
I see her love.
What her skin cannot contain.
So I see what’s real.

I will die with a deficiency.
& I smile because of it.
When the world becomes fragile.
I won’t see the red of the flames.
When the world becomes damaged.
I won’t see the blue of the flood.
When the world becomes a waste land.
I won’t see the color fade.
Because my deficiency took that a long time ago.
I smile because I’m used to it.
& it made my life beautiful.
Even though I saw black & white.
My canvass was colored with my heart.
& that is where my imagination runs wild.


I was blessed with a deficiency.
& I smile because of it.
Because I knew never to be afraid.

In my youth I said I was more than black.
That my melanin was skin deep,
just a glance doesn’t reveal anything.
Time has taught me that I’m black enough.

I’m black enough that I got a college degree
to go with the Oreos kids called me

Black enough to pause when a cop rolls
by, even though I’ve committed no crime.
Black enough that I got family doing time.

Still black enough to be excited
about Black Lightning, Black Panther and Luke Cage.
Black enough to know people will see we are more than rage.

Black enough to never
let anyone call me outside my name,
and to rock twists until they became my mane.

See I’m black enough to know
I’m blessed enough to be made in his image.
That every breath in this body is a privilege.

I’m blessed enough to have two parents at home.
Blessed enough that God’s with me when I roam

I’m blessed enough to use these words as weapons,
cutting down all societal expectations.

Blessed enough to know that yes,
I am more than black,
but I’m still black enough.

And I'll take on the world.
This is me,
Whole again.
Taking every new step,
Conquering it without you.
This is me,
Holding hands with someone
Who wants to keep me,
Cherish me for who I am.
This is me,
Forgiving you for the hurts I've felt.
This is me,
Thanking you for letting me go,
Discovering a life I'd never imagined.
I am blessed that you let me go.
Truly blessed, to had you in my life.