Two of a Kind
I come from a place where thick lips, a wide nose and soft hips are beautiful.
A gap in our front teeth is considered charming.
A soft belly and thick thighs - stunning.
I grew up in the embrace of women whose arms enveloped me in love.
They walked slow and their strides were purposeful and rhythmed to the quiet sounds of the beads around their waists.
For a brown girl like me, they were my reflection.
The definitions of beauty in this world are many.
Sadly, there is a dominant narrative which is singular.
Despite the multitudes of cultures around the world,
this one version of beauty, is thrust on us all.
I watched that version seep into my child’s mind.
She would touch the soft of her hair and doubt every curl.
Wonder if the curve on her waist was just a little too wide.
Second guess her lips and the brown of her skin.
It frightened me.
But I found a way.
All I needed to do was to remind her,
to show her that she is a reflection of me,
of my mother,
of our aunties,
of our lineage.
Tribes that go far back to before stories were written on paper.
I had to embrace my beauty, and power
For her to see that it also belonged to her.
Two of a Kind is most special to me,
It is a message of love and strength to the one girl I love most in this world.
My daughter.
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