Maurisa Li-A-Ping
words of affirmation
okay.
i see you.
so this how you gone step out hm.
you know you looking like a snack right, like a whole meal.
i see your chicken noodle soup and soda on the side.
you ain’t have to shine like that Black Girl.
got your glow lighting this whole room,
but we knew this,
been hip to the light.
sun and moon all jealous and shit ‘cause you done walked in.
okay, so now you know you just being extra!
slaying all your haters,
melanin poppin, lashes flourishing, waves on swim, curls jumping, brows laid, spirit aligned.
zamnn girl, you ain’t have to kill them like that.
you knew damn well they wasn’t ready, but i see you, i see you Black Girl
looking like a cup sweat tea.
wow! so you just gone keep slaying huh.
copy. cool. say no more, okay.
i see you over there looking like a bag of money,
you just gone keep robbing these banks with this look huh
this soul, this joy, this strength, this smile,
okay Black Girl.
you better fuck it up!
yas bitch, queen, trap gawd, person of the earth, scholar and student, all thee above
you better!
Black Girl Black Girl. Black Girl!
you so bomb, even metaphors fail you.
what is there, to compare a Black Girl to?
Black Girl! i done wrote this poem for you.
so busy slaying the game,
ain’t even look at yourself today.
here Black Girl here Black Girl
i wrote you a mirror.
in this universe, Blk Women are the moon
some folk wonder
what it might be like to be the moon
us Blk Women know
what it mean to be the light
shine so bright people be afraid of you
they misplace your pain for anger
Blk Woman sway
slow and steady into the sky
reminding herself of her gentleness
the first person that came to the moon was some white man
them always chasing Blk Women
go outta space for us
some folk come to visit just to say they was on the moon
but don’t nobody ask the moon how its doin’
folk don’t even ask if the moon wanna day off
they figure the moon so strong
it don’t ever get tired of lighting the entire earth
moons don’t cry, where they do that at
moon be like,
aint i
a woman?
some folk, don’t believe me and continue to wonder
what it might be like to be the moon
so i repeat the poem again
i know
what it mean to be the light
to shine so bright people be afraid of you
they misplace your pain for anger
i sway left and right
slow and steady, into the sky
reminding myself of my gentleness
the first person that came in me was some white men
them always chasing me
go outta space for me
some folk come to visit just to say they was in me
but don’t nobody ask me how I’m doin’
folk don’t even ask if i wanna a day off
they figure, Blk Women so strong
she don’t ever get tired of lighting the entire world
blk women don’t cry, where they do that at
i be like,
aint i
a woman!
Maurisa Li-A-Ping is a Black Queer poet, and educator raised by a village of Black women in Brooklyn, New York. Maurisa utilizes spoken word poetry as a site for social justice and inclusion to promote student learning and development on college campuses. Her dedication to her craft has led her to receive The Ernst Pawel Award for literary excellence, national and regional honors from The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Her performances have allowed her to touch stages at the World Famous Apollo Theater, United Nations, Poetic License Festival, Barclay Center and more. Maurisa is currently continuing her education as a masters student at Indiana University Bloomington and has forthcoming publication in Black Diasporas: Essays on being Black and Bicultural and the Coalition Zine.