Mahogany to Ebony to Charcoal

I've looked into almond eyes surrounded by sesame freckles

I've touched skin the color of cashews which only the finest silk should adorn

I've appreciated a mix of European sophistication and rugged native beauty

But how I love to kiss lips like mine

Lips like plump berries and have your pronounced nose tickle the nape of my neck

As I run my fingers through your kinky hair

Why don't they appreciate the beauty of your skin?

In all shades you are beautiful

From mahogany to ebony to charcoal

Whether in the cover of a coconut tree in Bridgetown

Or the blazing noon sun in Soweto

How I love skin the color of cocoa

Black is beautiful and though I don't discriminate or have preferences

I will always recognize and verbalize the beauty of a color so ostracized

Black, the color of fine leather

Black, the color of licorice

Black, the color of my ancestors

Not into black guys you say

You just mad because you can't handle our exotic features

Don't look at me like a zoo creature

Look into my black eyes and appreciate me, appreciate my ancestry

Realize that beauty has no boundaries

Look past my black skin and get to know me, love me