[Image Description: An
illustration of a Black girl with cornrows wearing pink eye shadow and gold
hoop earrings.]
Artwork by Annabel Macaulay (@annie_maccc)
Poem by Lauren Lisk
To the
Little Black Girl
Do not
forget that you are the future,
And so forge
your own path.
Do not
forget that you are enough,
That the
world turns upon you
As if you
are its axis.
Do not
forget that your fortune
Is not by
chance
And the
world is lucky to have you.
Remember to take
up,
A little more
space than you need,
And never
change your proud tooth gap
And afro
hair or your
Cavernous
laugh which
Fills the
silence in every room
To appeal to
the rest
Of the
audience scrutinising
The show
which is called,
Your Life.
You will
never look like them,
You will
never be like them,
So don’t
waste time trying.
Let your
voice dance as you speak,
And twist
words forcefully,
With your
steady tongue.
When you
smile don’t thin
Your plump lips
for an illusion,
But taste
that sweet
Black girl
magic and
Let it fill
your lungs
And make
your curls bounce.
For it will
be hard,
As you
correct your name
For someone
who won’t
Bother to
pronounce it.
As you look
around to see,
That you are
the only
One who made
it.
As you fill
your head
With
equations and statistics,
Do every
extra curricular
To be
diminished by,
One five
letter word:
Quota
And so
promise me,
You will not
doubt your success.
Your future
is not a gift,
Never forget
that you,
Are not a
token.
Lauren Lisk is a teenager from London,
who is just starting to consider herself as a poet. She writes to hopefully
create change in society and make people feel something. Her work has recently
been published by Hebe Poetry. When she isn’t thinking
about writing, she enjoys playing piano, and singing at the top of her lungs.