Category Archives: Poetry

You talk some proud

You sound so white

I’ve heard since I was young

When I was just a little girl

I learned that Gullah wasn’t welcomed off my tongue.

A sea of beautiful

brown faces and yet

we’re the lucky ones

Kept hidden from our races

blind before our sons.

Our lips are bound

with wordless chains

We are made deaf to the drums

The hunger for our past remains

It cannot be undone.

Craving words of wisdom

Hands are reaching for their guns

The hollow clap of emptiness

Echoes in the slums.

And now the suburbs.

Word is mum.

So dangerous our silence

when power fills our lungs;

We’ve been robbed of our integrity

We are weakened.

We are dumb.

Until the tales are opened

and the pendulum has swung

We stand mutely by the by

separated

subjugated

done.

~Rachelle M. Turple

Confuse not my outer self with beauty

Dig into the depths of me

The shallows of my arrogance

The misconceptions of my naivety

The candid notions of my youth

Respect my intensity and always yearning for the truth

Know me

Accept my intellectual.

Embrace my inhibitions

Understand me in my modesty

My opinion is not shy

Know that my spirit is not timid

Let my love protect and saturate you

Be baptized within my vision

Know me

Need me to inspire you.

Look into my value

Regard my eyes beyond perception

Let my integrity allure you

Thirst to be my sole companion

Behold the contours of my wisdom

The refinement of my character

Know me

Consider me wonderful.

Find comfort in my loyalty

Be mystified by my bravery

Understand that I am sensitive

Trust and know that I am dedicated

Feel protected by my humility

Be humbled by my maternity

Know me

Acknowledge my maturity.

Love the content of my essence

Be awed within my presence

Aroused by my entire being

I am matrifocal, I am metaphysical

Truly philosophical, respectful of the spiritual

Believe that I am sensual

Know me

And you will find I have surpassed physical beautiful.

~Rachelle M. Turple