Tuesday, January 26, 2010

To every man who looks upon me: A Poem by Bonita Lee

BLACK BUZZ NEWS SERVICE
Special Report-The Arts
January 26,2010
Pittsburgh Pa.

Bonita Lee's great poem titled "to every man who looks upon me " appeared in the book titled the Crossing Limits Anthology in 1996 on page 90.
Crossing Limits is important both for Pittsburgh and for the country , because these poems do cross limits and create a community of words,a community of poets. A strong community celebrates both its commonalities and its differences,as these poems do.
There's a lot of struggle in these poems, but a lot of strength too.
JIM DANIELS, Poet

to every man who looks upon me-Bonita Lee

whether he is of African,White, Asian, Hispanic,or European origin
i want them to see me
a Black woman
a Black queen
to know i am not black just by color of my skin
but because of the color of my mind
color of my thoughts
color of my dreams
color of my hopes for the future
color of my pride
to know i am not Black by design because of cowrie choker i wear
or nose ring
i want them to respect me
to respect my Blackness
which some may question
by size,shape,or point of my nose
by texture of my hair , color tone of my skin
my blackness is not limited because of my ancestry lineage
which I had no control
i control my present day
there is no limit to my blackness
i am not African-American-Irish-Spanish-Native American
i was born an African Queen
to walk in pride ,in arrogance of my African descent
to carry myself as mother earth that gave birth to a great and strong race
also grandmother who continues to care for that race.
i am an African Queen.

Wasn't that a powerful poem from a beautiful sister,Bonita Lee.
Bonita Lee, a graduate of Quaker Valley High School,lives in the Manchester Area of Pittsburgh with her three daughters.
She is employed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. She has completed an unpublished poetry manuscript,is at work on a second manuscript,and is in search of a publisher for both manuscripts.

2 comments:

RayP said...

I meant "gotta LOVE the black woman"

RayP said...

Mr Black Buzz. When are you going to blog about that brotha Jordan Miles ? Pittsburgh cops are at it again - they gave that brotha a serious beat down.