When I let this fro go
It's big, real big
It's an event and it's mine
It grows from me
From my dome, my hormones
Water with my detangling tears
It grows from my tending and in spite of my neglect
This stuff has survived Saturday
Mornings at the Americana beauty salon
And Miss Gladys' straightening comb
Hot curls and lethal lye shots in a pink box
This hair is a survivor
And there will be no running of fingers through my afro locks
Cause fingers get caught in kinks and coils
Get messy with grease and oil and scalp soil
Fingers might even get pricked when my shit is brittle and dry
But don't cry cause I warned you
So enter at your own risk
Cause this ain't no ordinary shit
It's the ornery offspring of a love/hate thing
It's my way of preserving history and identity
It's my choice, it's big and it's mine
And please watch out
Cause if you stand too close to this stuff on either side
You might get knocked down by my expansive crown
And don't come near me with no candle or cancer sticks
Cause if I wanted my shit to burn
I'd go back to my straight, silky, swingy days of press and perm
This wild wooly suits me
Symbolizes and embodies my super sisterness
There's power and story in these tresses
There's time invested, cultures connected
There's Lynchburg, Virginia up in here
There's the Italian market up in here
There's Nana's fried egg butter fish and
Nanny Perry's pasta dishes up in here
And there's been fear in here
Fear of being a bashful little yellow girl
Fear of non-acceptance
Fear of conforming
Fear of words like oreo, mixed, zebra, wanna be
There's learning in here
There's where I'm from and where I'm going in here
There's even a lost and found in here
Well, I've lost and found some confidence in here
I've lost and found some lovers in here
Lost and found an old fist pick
Some bobby pins, a couple of barrettes
And an old school terry cloth Kangol, light blue
But for real though
When I let this fro go
It's big, real big
Eight months pregnant belly kind of big
Four beautiful water head boys out the birth canal type of big
Big
So when I set this shit free from the pony puffs and head wraps
Step back cause here comes me
Defying inhibition, claiming mine
Here comes me
Woman, poet, mother, little yellow black girl
Shy militant, hot tempered, former perm sporter
Child of the hip hop movement
Bitch when I wanna be and I say when
Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera
Me
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