I Am Poem by Kantrina E. A. Phillips

I am
mother
lover
sister
friend
I embody black power
I am soul
Diverse
Unique
Articulate
I know the value of knowledge
Learn all you can, while you can
I love hard
Harder than a boulder on the broken shoulders of mountains
I have overcome mountains
In leaps and bounds
I was bound
By my past
The hate
The rage
The faith
That was handed to me from early generations
I am the proud lineage
Of slaves, slave owners, and the tribes of the cradle of life
I live for today
Hope for tomorrow
Like Hughes I've known rivers