By Natalie Edmond
your identity is a mountain
which cannot be moved.
don’t let yourself be bound by the zip ties
of judgmental gazes.
understand
those rejections were armor
your younger self couldn’t see as protection
Black girl
Take up space in your own truth.
Grow within yourself, without fear of being judged for it.
Let your hands protect what you hold onto.
the way birds embrace the breeze
as it blows through their feathers
the way your fro embraces humidity
eagerly & happily.
Black girl
Nourish
Lick
all the wounds
hidden within your heart.
cup the fire of your inner whimsy
and vow to never let it dim
for the younger version of you that never felt seen
for the woman you’re building brick by brick to be
Black girl
your identity is a mountain which
cannot be moved.
Natalie Edmond is a creative writing major at La Guardia Community College whose work explores identity, healing, and the inner lives of Black girls becoming. She writes to honor softness, fire, and the spaces between survival and self-definition.
Photo by Shadai DeJesus Espinoza
Shadai DeJesus Espinoza is a journalism student and photographer originally from Long Island, NY. Her work focuses on culture, and community, with particular interest in hip hop history, different music scenes, and documentary storytelling. Shadai hopes to pursue broadcast and documentary journalism, using multimedia storytelling to document overlooked narratives.
