Poetry: Caroline Kautsire

I Woke Up Black

Mood: Empowered.

I woke up black

in my brown skin, shimmering bright

in a world I was told I do not fit in.

But today, I claim the space

to say, “I matter, too!”

For this world was masterfully made

for all of us to live in.

And today, I dare to live black in my brown skin

because God saw that it was good

to create me like this.

I won’t beg to be seen

but the silence is now broken

and all may behold

what has become of this world we call our own.

So how do I feel? You might ask.

Empowered, my dear brothers and sisters,

because today

I woke up black—in my beautiful brown skin!

Condition: Breathing.

Again, I woke up black—

breathing, when my brother is not.

In this skin, I am earth’s dust come alive

when my sister is no more and laid to rest.

They say I am different, lesser in color,

weaker in sex.

I am she who talks wild,

living in grace no one understands.

They say my brown skin is trouble,

dressing me in labels that lie.

Yet I stand firm—ever blessed,

shaking off dirt,

the words that bruise my skin!

Mood: Black and Strong

And now I look at my skin, remembering

strength it takes to live while black,

to summon my voice and speak up,

raising my fist like a beacon of power!

Today, I hashtag my words

And my black squares too.

Black – Lives – Matter!

Remember that!

Black skin is a blessing!

2020 is now here,

and it echoes like a mic from heaven,

asking us to speak our pain

on our road to our healing,

to latch onto our faith,

reclaiming our strength

be strong, brothers and sisters.

Make way

change is here:

a new world is in our view.

Glitch

She was told she was a 

mistake. A glitch in the dating pool, 

where he often swiped right, admiring 

people’s best photos, concluding how bios that read 

“carpe diem” seized more than a day but a lifetime 

of love. She was told she was a 

mistake, the day she let go of her fears, 

placing his hand on her chest 

as her heart beat in the rhythm of his name, 

a sound he hated for making him see 

himself. “That tune is off,” he whispered, 

swiping right a new face, a new “carpe diem”

anybody— 

who wasn’t her.

Caroline Kautsire is originally from Malawi, Africa, and is currently an English Literature and Writing professor at Bunker Hill Community College and Bay State College in Boston. She has published poetry and flash fiction that explores themes such as searching for identity, struggling with intimacy, and learning to love.  Also a stage actress and director, Caroline was nominated for best supporting actress by the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres for her performance as Trinculo in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. She will be publishing her first book, a memoir titled What Kind of Girl?, on July 31st, 2020.