A phenomenal woman-that’s what you see.
Phenomenal because of what’s inside me.
What makes me so phenomenal, you ask ?
I can summon the powers of those in my past.
Those who endured vicious evils untold:
those who were murdered, raped and sold!
Those with no name, those who wore chains
Those who bounced back from unspeakable shame.

Those who ruled kingdoms in a faraway land.
Those who built pyramids and the Sphinx by hand.
Those who work miracles through prayer and song.
Those who have kept an oppressed people strong.
Those who are here despite every attempt
to disgrace and destroy-yes, I come from them.
I AM a phenomenal woman, you see.
Phenomenal, simply, because all that’s in me!

© 2002 C. Highsmith-Hooks