Poetry

When I was little, there were two dogs who lived with me and my grandma. My favourite, was this pretty chocolate brown dog with enormous eyes. His name was Bruno and I adored him. ⁣⁣ I wrote this poem a while ago as a reflection of my experiences dating and navigating this world as a black woman ᴍᴀɴɢᴏ ᴛʀᴇᴇ⁣ ʀᴀɪɴ, ʀᴀɪɴ, ɢᴏ ᴀᴡᴀʏ. ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴅᴀʏ ʙᴀʟʟᴏᴏɴ Writing something solid has been hard lately.. I'll start a project and have do much energy, passion and interest in it then a few days later the momentum dies out. Does this happen with anyone else? ⁣ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ ʜᴇʀᴇ. I applied for naturalisation (citizenship for minors) in 2014. I had been in the UK for around 12 years at that point, I had spent most of my life in the UK. It was my home. ᴅᴀᴅᴅʏ. ᴍᴀꜱʜ ᴍᴏᴜᴛʜ. I've never felt a particular way when it came to father's day. It was just another day, but I do catch myself, with each year that passes, scrolling quickly past posts and deleting emails that so much as hint at the day.
A screengrab from the website two of my poems are featured on. Includes an image of a black woman looking into a mirror with one eye covered. Text below reads: "this skin i'm in" and "the shade of it all". These two poems from Toni Murphy capture the struggles many black women face: loving their black skin but having to prove that they are more than just their skin colour.