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{\info
{\title Disease of Strength }
{\author Alhambra Poet}
{\*\company YouthAkili}}\margl1440\margr1440\vieww9200\viewh8100\viewkind1\viewscale100
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\f0\b\fs30 \cf0 \ul \ulc0 Disease of Strength \uc0\u8232 
\fs20 \ulnone by Helen Yohannes
\f1\b0\fs24 \
\
a lady's tribute to a fellow lady\
celebrating the power of sisterhood\
that produce the babies\
birthed from our wombs\
an extension of God\
creation of life - until they're gone to heavan\
a medicine for everything you're feeling\
from our nurturing nature\
of our magical beings\
we sooth the wounds of the world's children\
and allow you a moment to listen\
to the wisdom \
spilled from the lips of our women\
women of power and women of color\
women of beauty, women from different mothers\
women of dreadlocks and head wraps\
with permed hair or knotty naps\
with wide hips and large lips\
different sizes that come with it\
we love, we hurt, we talk, we learn, we cry, we balance\
we carry the blood of warriors that flow through our veins\
reminding us we are alive\
therefore we are strong\
even when we feel weak, we are alive and therefore we are strong\
we are strong we are strong\
we must be strong\
we have to be strong\
you woman, black woman can't be anything other than strong\
the trick to get us to work in the fields and do the same work as the men\
the trick to take away our femininity and forget we are women\
the stereotype just like the jezebel or mammy\
instead we are Strong Black Women\
too feisty and determined\
too guarded and independent\
but the last time i checked\
being lonely never made me happy\
and knowing it all really meant i knew nothing\
except that i am trapped\
in a box with no holes\
so if i have babies and no active father involved , i must not cry\
if my television screen tells me i'm not beautiful, i must not cry\
if my mama verbally abuses me, i must not cry\
because she never did\
or her mother, or her mother before that\
generations of one mind set\
we must never let\
emotions revealed - a fallacy of how to heal\
no nervous breakdowns, no need for a man, no girly dreams of bridal gowns, or that real love could actually come around\
no temper tantrums, no insecurities, no cravings of company, or someone to simply tell you you're pretty\
i am strong, i am strong, i am strong, i am strong\
shut up - i have a disease, the disease of strength\
and you girlfriend, lady friend, mama, sister, grand mama, and teenage daughter\
have that same disease\
as we gaze at pictures of african queens and ancestors\
as they carry that heavy bucket solely on their heads so effortlessly, with vibrant clothing full of every color in the rainbow\
and the only image that seems to stay in my head\
is the fierce look in their eyes, looking straight ahead \
walking for miles and miles with no complaints\
but i still notice their hips\
wide, wide hips\
and get even wider\
every moment another emotion is hidden and held in between her legs\
in that thing, in that thing they've managed to separate from herself\
and only once a day, when she takes a shower and rubs softly against it \
she remembers she is a woman\
and not a man, but still brave\
so why do we always call the weak ones pussy\
\
\
\
}