beauty & suffering .

womanhood is the bastard daughter of suffering .
i have never known beauty until i have seen a woman's strength .
tears swelling behind the eyes like a tsunami, waiting to flush away the adversity of the day .

legs spread apart, pushing 8 pounds through slit flesh . yes, i am vulgar... but not delusional . that is suffering -
even worse, having that same, manifested 8 pounds of humanity refer to your gender as "bitch, slut, or whore" . that stings .
stings like scooping together 38 years of courage to finally feel confident about your chocolate skin to have your son tell you that he only likes "light skin girls" . we take the lashes .

suffering- like being lifted above the kitchen room floor by your neck . slowly losing sweet consciousness while savage hands grope the circumference of your throat . a kick to the stomach, an immense shooting pain into your spine . black and blue eyes hidden under RayBan's that he bought you to "apologize".

strength like biting lips when the sickle cell anemia attacks strike once again . strength like watching your hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows slowly fade away from chemotherapy . strength like heartbreak . strength like unrequited unconditional love & loyalty ...

WOMEN, KNOW YOUR BEAUTY & STRENGTH

inspired by the inspirational words and story of Ms Stephanie M. Crumpton- minister, breast cancer and domestic violence survivor :)