The color of the earth

a deep well of color

beauty radiates from your skin

A man sings a lullaby to his first born
and nicknames her, “mi negrita” as she falls asleep

A man sits on his favorite chair
his granddaughter jumps in his arms and kisses his cheek
¡Abuelito!, she exclaims

A man in a suit reads Psalm 23 from a podium
“Aunque ande en valle de sombra de muerte,
No temeré mal alguno, porque tú estarás conmigo;
Tu vara y tu cayado me infundirán aliento.”
She whispers a prayer, the valley of the shadow of death seems infinite these days

A man walks to class
They’re just babies it seems
“You deserve so much better”, he tells her a million times over
He was right all along.

A man with a book bag walks through campus
Carrying a story and smile
¡Karlita! he says, in a French-Creole-Spanish-English accent.
She’s not sure how they’re not actually cousins

A man laughs
with a tender soul and kind eyes
She laughs too
No one knows why they’re laughing
they don’t either
but they laugh and joy fills the room

A man travels the world
her phone goes off
“I’m back in town, let’s get lunch.”
She still claims Messi is the best player
He still disagrees
Nine years they’ve been having this discussion
A brother and a sister

A man with a Real Madrid jersey stands on stage
“Hala Madrid!” he says.
He’s wrong, obviously! (¡Visca Barça!)
The same man looks at her right in the eyes
“Stop hiding, God is calling you by name”
And she cries and he cries
He believes in her
He’s her family
And his family is her family too.

Can you not see? I wouldn’t be here without the heart of a black man

From the day I was born, to my darkest days
from a broken heart to the joyful days
from new experiences to just another day

Black man
You are loved
Black man
You deserve the world
Black man
The sun kisses your skin
Black man
You are the image of God
Black man
You are holy
Black man
You are worthy
Black man
I am sorry
Black man
I love you

Without you I wouldn’t be here.

Black man
Thank you.

I hope your flowers bloom.