POEM BY: Shenna T. Williams
I don’t want a daughter
beautiful
precious
black
I don’t want to have to
explain
my pain
engrained in her
DNA
flowing through every strand of her
hair
I don’t want her to know our world lost
its magic
it will ooze out her pores
she will overflow
and they will come
hands cupped
ready to drink her up
then have the audacity to tell her
she was never enough
So primordial she is,
made for something vast
placed in a small world,
finite form
when she deserves to be
adored,
adorned
not begging for crumbs
I don’t want to birth
the savor of my spirit
She will know what to do
She will know what to say
and if she doesn’t
I love her anyway
I don’t want to, so deeply
but at least this reveals
my own mother probably felt what I feel
my own creator knew my will
and yet,
here I am
still.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I wrote this while exploring one of my deepest fears: becoming a mother like my own, while having a daughter like me and not being able to prepare her for the world or herself.
I was inspired by the emotional weight of generational patterns and the responsibility of breaking them. I wanted to express my love for Black women and the quiet grief tied to our shared upbringing.
While writing, I held space for that love and sadness at the same time, realizing how deeply connected they are.
