the duties of a melanin girl

the duties of a melanin girl are as follows 
she must first learn how to love herself, in her skin 
she must never wish to be any other colour than the one bestowed upon her 
she is in the skin that she is supposed to be in

the duties of a melanin girl are as follows
she must acknowledge and accept the struggle of her ancestors 
regardless of whether she be part melanin or a few fractions melanin 
she is a melanin girl 

the duties of a melanin girl are as follows
there are people who want to take from her 
people who get off on appropriating her culture but can't appropriate her lifestyle
she must know that her melanin skin is not a death sentence but a sign of triumph

the duties of a melanin girl are as follows
she is the original queen of this earth 
and just because she is a little bit darker than the girl next to her does not mean that she is less than 
should someone tell her differently, tell them to look it up in the history book - well that's if her ancestors' heritage has not been tainted and her oppressor's sanitised 

the duties of a melanin girl are as follows 
she was not put on this earth to be a second class citizen 
she was not put on this earth only to be another lifeless body in the streets 
she was put on this earth to breathe the same breath, bleed the same blood, live the same life, amongst these ignorant bastards

the duties of a melanin girl are as follows
she must pass on her struggles, pass on her strength to her melanin children
so that they may know what it is like to be melanin children in a white world 
so that they may know what it means to be melanin children in a melanin world 

these are duties of a melanin girl  
they, however, go a bit further than the duties of a melanin boy