The strength we embody

They told us our skin meant exile That our joy would be put on trial Because it brings rain But how can they hate the rain when it nourishes the ground we walk on The same ground that grows the food we need to survive They want us to cower in the face of their Whiteness To bow down to their egos and stroke it For us to call them superior And reprimand our own blackness And repent with silence But we were born strong Strength flowed through our bloodlines Coursing through generations Our ancestors created a legacy of pride That we their children will not allow to be broken We have endured the stings of their whips We have lived through the shackles of slavery We have taken abuse from the system Yet still remained outspoken Refusing to be the beat up victim And faced the inhumane conditions of incarceration We were made to withstand any storm To hold our own Whilst being pushed around To trust in the power of ourselves To embrace the harsh realities of life To continue to love And balance the rain with our sun To smile and not giving them the satisfaction Of their racism And to not be bullied by their discrimination