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Best Poems Written by Shaneika Cooper

Below are the all-time best Shaneika Cooper poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

Soul Food

Soul Food
                                          By: Shaneika Cooper

It didn’t miss me, it came one hot day when mother nature woke me up
Two ham hocks on the side, one big plate of dressing sticking out in the back
Yeah, I got about three extra helpings when all the other girls got one

Mama laughing and telling me I was growing
While daddy stood in the shadows praying no one noticed
Boys would stare, thinking I’m older and one of those experienced ones
But I was a child, sweet and innocent, not ready for lust to come in

Clothes fit me tight, showing off the extra helpings
Kids teased me, cause I was a little “thick” around the middle
Constant assumptions of where it all came from cause mama was flat and 
shaped like a keg
Constant rumors and discrimination when I was the one hurting

I was the one ashamed of the extra baggage and didn’t know how to accept it
I was the victim….

But one day, an angel, a savior, walked into my life and told me to accept it
To love it, cause I was one of the lucky ones
To hold it, cherish it, and present it well

To come to the realization that this doesn’t define me, and will never define me 
because I’m the warrior
The true victor, the prizewinner
The beautiful heart and smile that will be rewarded someday with hope
And strength

Soul food.
It held me, made me
That cornbread, them collards, that macaroni

Can I have a second helping?

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

Black Beauty

She sits on her throne with a fixed smile on her ebony face
staring into the crowd, she sees the peasants all grim and dull
But the smiles on their faces tell her they have love, strength, and happiness

As a child in the Congo, she would swim the river and look upon the villages
filled with them
And like now, their smiles filled her hollow heart

Laughter choking the air
Making her existence stale and ignored

Love, dangling above her like her pet monkeys swinging in trees
imported from Asia for her father insisted she have the best

Turning away from the crowd, she looks into her
room filled with silks from India, Diamonds from caves in inner Africa

Plush pillows filled with feathers from geese that were handpicked from 
prosperous farms

She sits in her vanity, unwinding the long braid of hair secured at the top of her 
head

The long black hair falls beyond her shoulders, past her waist, until it lands 
above her ankles

A treasure, a beauty envied by all
And she used this, above the Congo River
Standing on her balcony

To drop, to tie it to a rail
to snap her neck, and hang freely
with one last breath, one last peek
at laughter and happiness

A life this queen never knew

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

Do This In Remembrance...

Do This in Remembrance…
By: Shaneika Cooper


Light a candle, turn on a light, whatever…
Open a book, lift a heart
Write a poem, a story, and hold it to yourself
And sing and cry out a joyful sound!

Do this to spread knowledge, art, spoken words
And grasp a hand, and hold it tight
To carry on the legacy of my name

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

I Remember

I Remember…
                                 By: Shaneika Cooper


I remember a time when I used to smile
A smile, so grand and beautiful that all believed it were something real
A hope worth waiting for, or at least they believed so…

I remember love, trust, and peace within myself, and self- worth until it was 
literally stolen from me
Until my children were ripped from my womb and sold to foster parents that beat 
them and shamed them

My worth shattered, thrown, pushed to the side and spat upon by that unforgiving 
force
But like Jesus did, I fought
Not with fists of steel, or minds filled with vengeance
But with sense, soul, and spirit

I fought and excepted the pain, the hurt, the torture
And I became a warrior, a queen, and an heiress
To the throne of salvation

I fought and told my daughters to stop crying
To stop worrying and to protect their pride, their heritage
To cherish that fruit of essence placed inside of them to prosper
Their minds, body, and existence, saved from confinement

I told my sons to stand strong and walk with pride
To be the brothas that they shall be
I told them to laugh and carry on the name of my legacy
My peace, my song, my faith
And my children did…

They fought with me, died with me, became statistics with me
Wounded in battle, and losing the shield iron
We were all warriors, and lost the war

But I am the true, undying one
I am Africa

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

Like a Seesaw

I got a friend, yeah she cool
 She a friend most people call crazy, but I like her the way she is
 She can take a hit
 throw a punch
She corrects me when I get out of line
yeah she cool

 But what about the times when she talked about me?
 Or called me out my name?
 Or when she let my name be dragged through the dirt

 Was she so cool then?
 Maybe so, I really don't know
 But through it all she showed me that I could take my own hits
 And throw my own punches

 Cause our friendship was like a seesaw
 tilting up and down until she jumps off and BOOM!!
 I'm left there crying and hurt
 While she laughs cause i'm on the ground

 But instead of kicking more dirt on me, she lifts me
 up and brushes my clothes off
 
 "I was playing", she says, "You know I got your back."
 And she smiles and says come on, and I run after her because I believe her

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

Weak

Weak
                                               By: Shaneika Cooper

Sometimes emotion takes over and I slip
You can look at me with that sexy smile and damn!
It’s over!

Those arms holding me
Caresseing me, sending me over the top
Making me wanna lay you down
And do whatever my body says

I get weak, so helpless
And ready for your love

Just a kiss, a touch
Has me yearning

For that love that drives me crazy
And that love that has me

Coming back for more

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

My First Love

Huh?

      You asked me about my first love?
   

                          What love?

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

To You All, I Will Conquer

To you all, I will conquer
By: Shaneika Cooper

Most of ya’ll don’t like me, and I know ya’ll certainly don’t 
Believe in me
You cut your eyes at me and point the finger just cause I’m that black girl
With the automatic destination

But little do ya’ll know, I don’t need your approval
I don’t need your blessing
Cause I’m a blessing, a strong confident blessing 
Whose voice will ring in a thousand ears

Yeah, I ain’t the smartest, or the finest
But I’m a perfect ten in my book
And you know what?

Someday you will be the one working for me
Doing my dishes
And I’ll just sit back on my throne and laugh!

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

Departure

When I depart, I’m gonna laugh
Just cause I’m out of YOUR bondage
So don’t even think about asking me back
Cause once it’s over, it’s done, finished!
Cause once I depart, I’m gonna turn around and smile!

Details | Shaneika Cooper Poem

Stairs

Stairs
                                                 By: Shaneika Cooper


I’m too cute to lower myself to your level
So turn around and go back DOWN
Your stairs, and I’ll turn around
And go UP mine!