Basking in the Beauty: A Poem for Black History Month

Being Black requires a choice

You can choose to live with hope or die of despair 

Trying to be strong with weights laying on our chest

Gasping for air, yet they turn a blind eye

Generational chains reinvent themselves in the form of institutions

A world that seems to despise us

Still heavily relies on Black creations

Who knew trying to live your truth could be so exhausting?

We’re sick of writing eulogies for the innocent 

Of trembling in places that are supposed to bring us comfort

Sick of fearing that if we make one wrong move, your finger will meet the trigger

And we’ll be destined to be the next hashtag that never got justice 

Sick of the blatant disrespect and mockery of Black women 

Of others assuming the worst of us because of our hair or dialect

Yet, capitalizing on our culture when it becomes the next trend

Sick of being ridiculed for things that a person with lighter skin is praised for

Sick of being terrified that one call to 911 could steal away everything we ever dreamed of

Sick of little Black children being taught the implications of their skin before they know how to ride a bike

Black trauma 

A pain all too familiar

Pleading to others that our Black lives have value 

Clinging to that last bit of sanity

It’s hard to choose hope and peace

It’s easier to become numb

Black people have had so much stolen from them

But they’ll never take our ability to be authentically us 

We choose to relish in hope, despite it all 

Basking in the melanated light of Black joy 

Otherwise, the hate can consume you like a predator devouring its prey

Therefore

We laugh

We smile 

We rejoice 

We find the strength to fight on

We come from a lineage too monumental to not celebrate

Not just in February, but forever 

A painful history binds our community together

But thankfully, we are exactly that

Together

• BlackHistoryMonth
• poem
• poetry
• UC Irvine