Brown

Handsome, in Black

tight coils expand when pulled

your marked melanin skin

glimmers in the sun

 

  You’ve always caught my eye

 

Nose, Wide and Flat

a feature of yours I favor most

 

eyes deep set and Brown

draw me closer in

hard to escape but

easy to get lost in

 

I’ve imagined our next encounter,

This Moment

where things have progressed,

headspaces cleared

hearts willing and ready

 

Here Comes My Favorite Part

 

Strong, built arms to engulf me

providing a missed comfort

my equally wide nose

catches whiff of your scent

Cocoa and Pine

Finally, I get sense that I’m back home

I am once more entranced by You

 

Lost in the stretches on your coffee brown skin

I realize that this is paradise

my own slice of Heaven

a Holy experience

etched black

Boy

 

Free of worry

Full of love

Engulfed Entirely by Brown

This poem entitled, “Brown”, won me my first Scholastics Award. I did not expect this poem to win.  I didn’t want to submit before. After I got the opinion of a friend and peer, I had decided that I would submit this piece and it was the only one that one. I don’t know exactly what I’m trying to say but don’t be so hard on your creations. I’ve noticed that writing I usually don’t take an initial liking too usually get the most praise in workshops.

Please, never doubt your creative abilities or your talents. You are gifted and special in your craft. Nurture it. Take care of it. Work on it and watch it blossom into what you knew it could always be.

Harbor Your Potential Friends.

Noelle Noelle

 

 

 

 

Author: Taylor Lafayette

Taylor Lafayette is a Senior Literary at Mississippi School of the Arts. She is Editor-In-Chief over Mississippi School of the Arts newspaper, RISE. She plans to pursue a study of broadcast journalism after graduation. Senior Season is upon us!!!

3 thoughts on “Brown”

  1. This is beautiful, Taylor. You capture black love in such a genuine, engaging way. As a reader, I could feel the love the narrator has for her partner seeping through my screen, and you did an excellent job of conveying the adoration they feel for him. The detail with which you describe him makes the narrator’s emotions clear, and you did more showing than telling in that aspect, which I adore. Also, the message about not underestimating one’s self is so important! It’s awesome that you touched on that, and I’m so glad that you chose to share this poem with the world. It deserves the praise it got at Scholastics and so much more!

  2. Woah, at first I was already gooped and gagged on the poem, and then you threw in the paragraph at the end and I just- I loved hearing the backstory to the poem and also the messageee

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