'Brown Skin, African Queen' Poem by Olorunkemi Kareem

Your skin —
deep as midnight,
rich as the soil that births nations.
It glows in the sun's kiss,
it whispers the story of ancestors
who built empires with bare hands and burning hearts.

You walk like thunder wrapped in grace,
feet steady, dreams unshaken.
They call you woman —
but first, you are warrior,
builder, healer, mother of more than children
— you birth hope.

African woman,
your laughter is a drumbeat,
your tears a silent prayer,
your love a fortress no storm can break.
You bend, but you do not bow.
You serve, but you are never small.

2Baba told no lies,
you are the African Queen —
royalty in every step,
beauty in every battle won.
And Beyoncé didn't exaggerate —
brown skin girl,
your light will always shine,
even in the dark.

Ouuu, you are history in motion,
a future in bloom,
the reason the sun rises East
and bows in the West.