"Intimidated" – poetry by iWrite
iWrite performing at AVP, an event hosted by Remnant, the youth ministry of Zion Church in Landover, MD
After critique from my audience and peers, I’ve been sanctioned to add some of my work to diVERSEcity. Unfortunately, I don’t own the video that I have (I was tagged on Facebook) and it is only a minute long because my camera’s battery died at the last minute and my lovely camera lady had to pick up with her digital camera.
A little background on this piece. I wrote this sometime late last year (I can’t really remember) and performed it for the first time at an event on campus last semester. It’s a poem that is near and dear to my heart because it exposes a lot of things that some people would consider insecurities but I embrace as beauty. I would love some feedback if you have any! Watch “Intimidated”
Because the video is only a minute long, I’ve added the written version below:
I think that
You
Are
Intimidated
By
Me
I think the ride of my breast and the bulge in my belly
Make you scared to approach me
Or maybe
It’s the spread of my hips
Or the thickness of my lips
Or maybe you fear being swallowed by my kiss
Because these here lips
Are lethal weapons
Used to fire ammunition called intellect
I expect
Nothing less than respect
So maybe the scarcity
Of a woman like me
Leaves you wrestling with your psyche
“Dang,
She got it goin on!
Them big thighs, beautiful eyes got me so torn!
But what will my friends think?”
What will his friends think?
Maybe they will wish
That these wide hips
Will come swishing their way
But instead they say
“Who? Big mama over there? Haha!”
But Big Mama got it going on
And you’d be a fool to let these wide hips and thick lips
Pass you by
And yes, I got a little extra meat on these thighs
And maybe my silhouette is not so pleasing to the eye
I may not turn heads when I walk down the street
With my three inch stilettos on these size ten feet
Yes, I do worry about fitting into the airplane seat
And no, I do not shop in stores that have petite
Excuse me sir, I need a size 20
Fellas cringe when they see me eat
Just because I like a healthy portion of my meat
I think
That
You
Are
Intimidated
By me
You’re scared that you will be consumed by
The 5’6” woman and her thunder thighs
Secretly
You admire me
You wish that you had the courage to remove the standard
Walk away being you and not some false depiction
But if I could make a slight prediction
I would say that
99.9% of women
Even in the media
On TV, Movies, Videos
The ones standing next to the rapper being called “hoes”
Even they are not your “average girl”
So instead of conforming to an imperfection
I embrace my collection
Of beautiful flaws and untamed pretty
Cause even if he doesn’t see
My beauty
To me,
His vision is far less than 20/20
Because he’s GOT to be scared of a queen so sleek
Cause even my flat booty is unique
Shaken by my Oprah Wings
He fears wrapping his arms around my wide but soft shoulders
Scared to touch my waist
Instead he tightens his embrace
On my fingers
Because his mind lingers
Where her arms are trim
Her waist is slim
And her skin
Smooth as a stone
But what he don’t know
Is that his fear doesn’t intimidate me at all
Because on a throne
Somewhere waiting to give me a home
Is my King
He’s not scared of me
In fact he rubs my belly
And embraces my ugly pretty
He gives me
All the complements in the world
Because to him his girl
Is full with more than just fat
He is reminded everyday that
The woman whom was created for him
Has love, peace, and joy within
She is a woman after his Daddy’s own heart
Not scared to be with her
But
Scared
When they are apart.
iWrite
