Poetry is a written form of expression where poets let out their thoughts and feelings; the reader connects to the author and may even get influenced to have a new way of thinking on a subject. The poem “This Skin I'm In: A Poem about My Black” by Jennifer Asiedu will be used as the point of inspiration (Asiedu, 2018). The author of the poem is a European-based elementary school teacher who is involved in poetry. The poem was written in 2015(Asiedu, 2018). The background is about a young black woman embracing her skin color and promoting racial self-confidence to the readers. The socio-economic context of the piece of art focuses on racial issues. Below is a poem titled “Melanin That Shines” inspired by Asiedu.
Melanin That Shines
The Sun kisses me
Melanin on my skin shines
I am God’s black child
The poem “Melanin That Shines” aims to end toxic colorism in an era when vulnerable populations have been marginalized for their skin colors. The poem praises melanin as a means to realize the connection between skin tone and personal identity in a positive manner. The poem is based on the socio-cultural issue of colorism. The connection between the two poems is that both pieces of art focus on race and colorism. Both poems focus on uplifting victims of marginalization and educating the society on the contemporary issue. Even though both poems share the theme of colorism and race, Asiedu’s poem covers more themes like freedom, liberation, struggle, oppression, challenges, resilience, hope, love, and artistry.
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Both poems have a tone of approval for the melanin skin. According to Asiedu (2018), her black is flawless. In the poem “Melanin That Shines”, melanin is praised. The mood in my poem is optimistic and cheerful throughout the poem whereas in “This Skin I'm In: A Poem about My Black” the mood varies from cheerful, to somber, and confrontational as it progresses. At one point in the poem, the author explains how her black is loved, and in another part, she explains how she confronted a racist (Asiedu, 2018); the poet successfully incorporates different moods in the poem.
In my poem, the word black is used to describe skin tone. Asiedu (2018) uses black to describe skin and also to describe a character, here black is used to represent strong, loving, hopeful, and artistic people of color. This is depicted in the following phrases from the poem “my black is flawless, my black is loud, my black is loved, my black is resilient, and my black is an artist” (Asiedu, 2018). The length of each line and stanza and the number of lines per stanzas differ in the two poems. However, choice of words in praising melanin and in advocating for self-confidence is similar in both poems. The medium of poetry in Asiedu’s (2018) poem can be used to spark inspiration and revolution among the readers whereas the choice of language in my poem can be used to educate on colorism and promote racial equality.
For artwork to be considered original, the unique work requires to be created or produced by the artist or the author. In this case, “Melanin That Shines” is an original and unique piece of written art. It expresses unique views of the author and is presented in a manner that highlights personal feelings and experiences. Such work may not be present in developed works of art across societies as it appears in the manner in which I as the author wanted it to look.
Reference
Asiedu, J. (2018). This Skin I'm In: A Poem About My Black . Soar.forharriet.com. Retrieved from http://soar.forharriet.com/2015/04/this-skin-im-in-poem-about-my-black.html.
