“You must not know you're black.” That's what my elders used to say. I was pissed. My skin deep, and my hair the coiliest. Black was me. But after life trampled over my confidence. I think they meant to say, “You must not know being exceptional is mandatory for survival.”

I wrote a poem—the first in over 300 days. It was about love—no eros, more agape, more philia. I stopped time and took an audience of 50 to the beginning—before we experienced love as a transaction. Before bitterness sewed its first seed. I wrote a poem just for me.

In 2024 we’re finding more reasons to laugh

I am from the first love this universe has ever known. That's my origin story. Or at least that’s what I tell myself when I feel uncertain about my place in the world. I don't have to wait to for an event to start changing my own narrative.

Yaa Gysai wrote, “I will be my own nation.” In a world where we no longer pretend to be virtuous, what are our governing principles? Today, I will choose to love all of me and surrender. I think that’s the beginning of becoming.

Hi, My name is Tania De'Shawn! I am a poet and writer based in Birmingham, Alabama. I authored my debut self-published poetry collection, be gentle with black girls. Currently, I serve as the Magic City Poetry Festival Eco Light Poet.