I lost sight of her many months ago.

I lost her,

now she sits alone.

I’m waiting until she finds her way back,

But the words of the world

have caused her to lose track

of time and space,

and where is she going.

Like seeking to swim

but you struggle while floating.

Can one of you, please,

please let her know?

That when they push her in corners,

she doesn’t stand alone.

There’s people like her,

they’re just far in between.

It’s hard to hear whispers

among crowds that are screaming.

I’ve heard that they follow her,

around public places.

I wish I could help

but there aren’t safe spaces

when the solution to your problems

are a part of the source —

I think that’s what hurts her,

I think that’s the worst.

She cries for your help,

but you spit in her face

when you sexualize her,

her body and her race.

The curve of her back,

her hips when she walks,

you stare at her pretty lips

while you think ugly thoughts.

She remains silent,

compliant —

she understands.

She can never move forward

unless she was a man.

Something like a firework,

a spark in her ignites.

Women cannot shine like this,

not unless that woman is white.

She’s starting to get it,

she moves on another step.

And you wouldn’t believe

what had happened next … 

Just around the corner,

lay a familiar figure.

It’s the old her

only stronger,

and bigger.

“All of this time,

I have wandered on my own,

searching for myself,  

and never having known,

it’s not about pointing fingers or calling people names,

it’s about proving all the wrongs in the things that they’re saying.”

She took a step back,

picked herself up from the ground,

the woman once lost

is now a woman found.

Before I go, I must share one last thing —

The woman that I write about,

that woman is me.

– K.M.

3/12/2017