Grounded to Stay Afloat

Grounded to stay afloat,

walking in the shoes

that take me through

my days above water.

Anchored to swim tough,

a melanin boat

filled with pride and notions,

drifting like the free wind.

Rifting through

the blemished layers

my past skins flaked away

from my pigment.

No remnants

in the other side of the mirror,

only pillars of my self love

spitting the image of me now.

-Jg