By Kellen Gaither
Beautiful black boy I wish you saw what I did. I wish you saw how your chocolate skin radiates in the bright sunlight and how your curls define themselves and how your smile can bring the sun from behind the heaviest cloud. I wish you saw how people’s faces light up when I mention your name and how they throw compliments on you like daisies in a field. My soft, beautiful boy, you’re beautiful, boy elegant and radiant, boy. I want you to feel nothing but joy, happiness away from the anxiety and toxicity and inconsistency. Just stick with me, I’ve got you through the hardships and the self-doubt. You’ve got me through the inner screams and shouts. We’ve got each other and our lives will turn around because we’re beautiful, black boy.
Kellen Gaither – 2021 Featured Poet – is a junior from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a psychology major with a minor in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies who is also working on her prerequisites for occupational therapy. Businessman, Cantu Bantu, The Hood Isn’t Even Ours Anymore, I Can Feel It, Not Allowed to Hurt, The Talk