Brown Skin Jawn
By: Tajinnea Wilson, Finalist Adult Poetry Division
I used to be so thankful
that I wasn’t a light skin chick
or a dark skin girl
I was content
with being a brown skin jawn
it meant I wasn’t foreign
or badd as shit
but it also meant I wasn’t a burnt piece of toast
I was a bit better or good enough
like one step above a bronze medal
“Mr. Burrell, If the dark skin slaves have to work in the field
and the light skin slaves work in the house, then
where do the brown skin slaves work?”
“Probably on the porch?”
“Somewhere in the shade, so we don’t get darker!”
I have just the right amount of melanin, thank god
brown skin jawns don’t curve you
at least not as often as those light skin one’s do
and don’t always have an attitude problem
not like them mean ass dark skins
I never added #TeamBrownSkin to my twitter bio
but I do like it when snapchat filters
make me look lighter
and add blush to my cheeks
the boys still can’t decide
if I’m brown sugar or caramel
but I don’t want to be either
I rather be thought provoking
I’m no longer content
with being a brown skin jawn
her amount of melanin makes her more valuable
more desirable than me?
and my melanin makes me one step above the next black queen?
that’s dead
the whole idea is trash
and we know it is
always have
About the Poet: My name is Tajinnea Wilson, but I tell most people to just call me “Taj.” I’m a senior Creative Writing Major with minors in Film Studies and Philosophy at Susquehanna University. Poetry is one of my favorite genres to read and write. I find it therapeutic and often use it as an outlet to express what I can’t verbally put into words. I’ve always had a passion for storytelling. Even though I enjoy writing, film is my true love, and that is the method of storytelling I adore the most. After graduation, I plan to pursue a career in the film industry as a professional screenwriter.