Discourse around blackness in America Often orbits around black pain Our suffering is a sun of conversations Time, after time, after time again But I grow weary of repeating our plight While never highlighting the beauty of us So often forgotten in conversation Is our perseverance and triumph The power we possess From the tightest curl on top of our head To the toes that walk earth's bed Why must I only share our struggle When our blackness is so much more? We're favored by the sun from the moment we're created With skin soft and sweet like a serenade We could be as pale as marshmallows Or as rich as basaltic rock of Nyiragongo There's genie embedded in our skeletons Why must I only retell our pain When strength is the blue of our veins? Potential comes natural to us It's the oxygen coursing through our bloodstreams Our hearts built from titanium, and our souls further precious than platinum Our chords produce notes no other bird can sing Why is black discourse always about precipitation? While ignoring the sweet scent of petrichor after rain