Poems by Keisha Swafford

We are soft and feminine,
Pretty and stylish,
We are strong in heart,
We keep going on and on,
We persevere...

Women are dependable,
Loving, and caring,
We keep our men going,
When times are rough,
We are very tough,

There are all kinds,
Of beautiful women,
In the world...
All shapes and sizes,
Different personalities,
We make up a good,
Part of the world,

We go through a lot,
We get the worst end,
Of breakups and heartache,
We get the emotional baggage,
The periods, the cramps,
But that is only,
A small fraction,
Of who we are,

We can be anyone we want!
We're independent,
We can be doctors,
Lawyers, teachers,
Journalists, surgeons,
Accountants, soldiers,
The world is our oyster,
And we are the pearls,

Love fills our souls,
We are so full of life,
We shine like diamonds,
In the night sky,
We may rise and fall,
But through it all,
We stand up tall.

I heard the voices scream
“Nigger, best shut your mouth.”
When prejudice ran wild
While hatred ruled the south

I heard the voices scream
“Nigger, back of the bus.”
Never knew why whites thought
They were better than us

I heard the voices scream
“Nigger’s setting off sparks.”
When they saw the courage
Of the great Rosa Parks

I heard the voices scream
“Niggers can’t go on strike.”
But instead of the bus
To our jobs we would hike

I heard the voices scream
“We black folks have our pride.”
As we walked hand in hand
And stood there side by side

I heard “I have a Dream.”
By Martin Luther King,
“If we stick with this thing
The voices will not scream.”

Heard, “Thank God Almighty,"
And “I am Free at Last."
Prejudice and hatred
Would now live in the past

I heard people singing
Songs full of love and peace
I heard people praying
For racism to cease

I heard the voices scream
“Nigger, pick my cotton
Color girl wash my floors”
Words won’t be forgotten

I heard the voices scream
“White man’s out and about.”
I heard, “I Have a Dream"
Just as the shots rang out

I heard the teardrops fall
I heard God's Angels sing
I heard the black man say,
“They murdered Doctor King.”

I heard the voices scream
“Revenge is what we seek.”
And not, “I Have a Dream
Someday our race will peak.”

I heard the voices scream
“We must stick together
Carry out Martin's dream
If it takes forever.”

I heard the voices scream
“We’ve won our Civil Rights.”
The words, “I Have a Dream
We’re equal to the whites.”

I heard the voices scream
“Racism’s here to stay
But thank God it isn’t
As bad as yesterday.”

I heard the voices scream,
“Nigger, back of the bus.”
Never knew why whites thought
They were better than us

I heard my own voice scream
When my sweet Momma died
Leaving her legacy
Her honor and her pride

I heard, “I think I'll sit
I'm tired and it's dark"
Were said by my Momma
Whose name was Rosa Parks

I am beautiful,
I am powerful,
I am desireable,
Boys love me,
Girls hate on me,
What's wrong with,
Being confident?
Pretty brown eyes,
Soft lips easy to kiss,
Long legs that move with grace,
Being me is who I want to be,
I wouldn't want to be anyone else,

I love with my whole heart,
When God sends me that special guy,
I will be happy, but for now,
I'm just having fun, gazing around,
Looking for someone, looking for no one,
Easy to please, I'm not fussy,
Someday I might be your Mrs.,
Butterflies and flowers surround me,
As I run in a field of daisies,
Thank God I am pretty,

I love myself,
No matter what,
Try your best,
To put me down,
Sorry, I'm not around,
I'm on cloud nine,
Sitting on my cloud,
Watching the world pass me by,
Happy as can be, I see a rainbow,
Full of color and vibrance,
Time is of the essence,
I must seize each day,
Cherish each moment,
Love the ones I'm with,
Use my talent and gifts,
God has bestowed on me,
Be thankful for everything,
I accept my crown as queen,
I don't need a king by my side,
I can be a queen all by myself,

I wanna be who I want to be,
Not what everyone wants me to be,
God controls my destiny,
Let God be my Protector and my Shield,
My heart He will heal,
Happiness and joy I feel.

Why do I feel so down on love?
Is love supposed to be this wonderful emotion that gives me joy inside?
I feel like love sucked the joy right out of me,
It's like my heart's been run over by an 18 wheeler.

Keeping my feelings guarded for so long has been exhausting.
Looking at the guy that I've liked since high school started,
Every single day is torture on my soul.

I wish I had the courage to speak to him
instead of turning the other direction when he walks past.
What about sitting next to two boys I admire very much,
And hardly breathing a word to them?
Why is God making me go through this?
I know I can't blame God for this problem,
Since I'm the one who is the coward

God is love and vice versa, am I right?
So maybe I'm not ready for love yet.
It may not be my time just yet,

Just maybe, God wants me to wait
For the right person to come along and sweep me off my feet.
God doesn't want me to be disappointed again.
I guess I have to be patient and wait a little bit longer.
Since God is love, I will trust that he will take care of me
in the department of true, pure love.