I wrote this a while ago

Black women, I love you- thank you for showing up. Holding space for us today ❤️

Black Girl Magic is the Residue of our Survival

By Jennifer Jessie

Nobody is coming to save you Black girl

Those fairytales and dreams you were sold as a kid- they were designed to fill your head and expand your thoughts to a world that didn’t include you

You are not the damsel in the story

You are the dragon they meant to slay

The dragon they forgot to slay

The dragon they now tolerate

Nobody is coming to save you Black girl

You could be drowning and screaming for help

The void of nothingness could be echoing your cries and yet nothing will budge

Those who finally come or show up or stumble upon you will ask you, as you drown, if you could help them with their life boat or jacket

And you’ll not want to do it, not have the capacity to do it

But you will do it anyways

You know if you don’t do it then when you are gone they will speak ill of your name and tell tales and dishonor those who came before you

And you will pretend it doesn’t matter, hope it does not, but you’ve never had the capacity to control the narrative and you will give in to save the little bit of humanity they toss to you on your way out

No one is coming to save you Black girl

And that should invoke a rage

A resolve

A determination

A grit

And yet you are too exhausted to even consider any of that

And so instead you hope that if no one is coming to save you that no one is coming to bother you either

If no one is coming to save you Black girl then all you can hope for is a moment of peace

A peace you have to create, cultivate and nourish yourself and protect with your last breath

They say Black girl magic changes the world

They don’t know Black girl magic is the residue of survival we rely on to find the worth in ourselves

No one is going to save you Black girl

But

Luckily

You aren’t waiting to be saved to feel the fullness of your existence

Nobody is coming to save you Black girl

Thank God you already saved yourself

(Copyright 2024- Jennifer Jessie)