Call an African woman beautiful, she is
a rare rose,
she survived slavery, Ukuthwala,
trafficking to Italy,
she remains whole, she’s unbreakable.
Call your daughter Amina, Moremi,
Muhumuza, Nefertiti
till she becomes a mirror reflecting
a beautiful smile of triumph
on the faces of Dahomey Amazons.
Call an African woman beautiful
when she wraps her black skin in Iro and Buba and
she’s not attracted to lost legs that speak French,
English, Portuguese
but to boys who sings Apala, Dadakuada
and those rocking Afro and speaking Swahili
or Hausa.
Call an African woman beautiful when she lost
her shame in breastfeeding her kid in a market place,
when she smells locust beans and
firewood smoke from her kitchen.
Call an African woman beautiful, when
she rocks her identity; when she dances
Kakilambe or Kwasa Kwasa,
When she admires Osun, Oya
and Nana Buluku.
Call an African woman beautiful, when she calls herself beautiful,
when she calls herslf a Black woman.
© Àdèlé Kolade
☺️