Dark Eve © 2004
by Vonetta T. Rhodes
God said,
"I’ll make me a little girl,
and I’ll call her The World,
but Satan will call her Darkie."
Chocolate grape eyes,
bright white smile,
and ultraviolet personality.
She is the angel of darkness.
Queen of the Night.
She is the one with shade,
cool demeanor,
yet red hot blood,
skin the color of mystery mud.
i will not call her Darkie.
She sings sweetly like Lady Day,
cuz her clouds are covered in gray
from the preoccupation of skin color.
Normal womynhood is not enough
when her melanocytes
made her darker than a trillion midnights.
Black conscious actions and love to match,
return to the dark shell everyday to hatch
a new reality of freedom…
Speak Darkie Queen,
let them know it’s time to live beyond the bleach.
Come out of the closet,
let ebony phonics sift through your speech.
Come to awakening,
make your nappy hair be the new perm-
stand against self-hatred
and be affirmed
that humanity loves this Darkie Sister.
She’s the black filament before the universe blistered.
We must love everything she stands for by worshipping her feet.
Leave soiled footprints in the sand,
lead us to relief.
No matter how yellow i am,
i look in the mirror and see you.
Sister-n-sister,
our love is sweeter than black-strap molasses dew.
Brown sugar baby,
coffee black mistress,
burnt toast negress,
we can’t help but see you.
Behold what they mistakenly call humanity’s curse.
Look upon me cuz i am Black,
reinterpret Makeda’s verse.
Beauty and history in constant creation.
Solomon wanted her dark womb
to entomb his nation
in her alkhemy.
Afrikan, she be,
darkie, she not be,
blackie, she not be.
Yemaya’s black blood legacy,
accept your beauty
and set your self free.
