An Ode to Melanin by Delanyo Mensah

you paint on the canvas of our skin

with your rich brown hues

dark as the midnight sky

you color our eyes

and in them lie all the constellations

our skin black coffee

with curves of sugar

absorbing the sun's rays

we sing your holy praise for

from the dirt you made kings and queens

black boys blue in the moonlight

black girls like chocolate on a hot summer day

ebony, umber, and beige

in the shades of the chocolate rainbow

we see your beauty radiates

but when others look they see a weapon

more dangerous than a bomb

and us your children

commodities to be harvested

then discarded like rinds of strange fruit

while others may fear how bright you shine

unaware of your powers untold

i see you

mahogany, taupe and cocoa

melanin within your deep brown hues

i see your unforgettable beauty

for when I look in the mirror

at my sun kissed skin

i know the powers you truly unfold

strength, love and light

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Delanyo Mensah is a student passionate about capturing the beauty and complexity

of being black in America. Through the artistic mediums of poetry, photography, and

jewelry making, she focuses on creating work that not only reflects her personal

experiences as a first-generation Ghanaian-American, but the strength and resilience of

all black people. In the fall she will be attending Vanderbilt University to pursue an

undergraduate degree in psychology.

Instagram: delaco14

Delanyo Mensah