My hair doesn’t need to be told to relax…
or need to be pressed, or weakened
So that it can fly in the wind
Or be flung over the shoulder
I’d rather carry the weight
Like a boulder
Means I’m strong enough
Bold enough
To walk along with my black sisters
Queens of Kemet
I feel the need to connect
With these roots
Black roots so strong
Too strong to be hidden
Underneath something so weak
But it’s a shame how we always sweep
‘em up when they start peeping
From under the rug
Your thirsty roots cry out
Don’t let ‘em die out
Nurture your roots
And let them grow
Soon they’ll flow
into
Tight coils and luscious ‘fros
The hair you never knew you had
Good hair
Hair you’re gonna love so bad
Yes they’ll call you mad,
But answer this
Is it better to be part artificial
Or to be 100% natural?
Hair is hair,but black hair in it’s natural state no matter the length or texture is a thing of beauty, and this poem is just highlighting that, the poet im sure didn’t intend any disrespect to those who choose not to be natural but was highlighting the beauty of what we naturally have as when we are born we have what God intended for us naturally appear. Maybe some people with perms and other non natural hair alternatives are not going through self hatred or aware of it but the fact is perms and straightening only became popular because of the non black community’s influence/pressure and advertising and some black peoples search for their approval and gradually it has been forgotten and just accepted as a way to add beauty and a rather normal part of growing up in western society. Personally I was born natural and went through about five years relaxed and am now back to natural because I realized that before I let myself become affected by outside influence my curls and shrinkage and general nappinness wasn’t affecting me negatively and everyone who mattered hasn’t had an issue with what grows out of my head so I am encourage others to go natural especially if they have children so they don’t think it’s the norm to conform to other races standards of beauty
Thanks so much for your comments! Exactly I don’t know why people took it the way they did. But i’m glad some people understand.
Beautifully written…can almost hear it spoken. Loving it!
My granddaughter will be reciting this poem next weekend at Reichold Center for the Arts in St Thomas. The art teacher chose her because she has a full head of natural hair. Beautiful poem!
wow wish I knew how it went Olivacce!
When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.
“Unknown”
Why do ‘we’ refer to what is naturally ours with such negativity..think about it…mental slavery..twisted pyche…self hatred..loving yourself means loving all of you..you’re perfect the way you are naturally. I rock my natural hair because i want my child to love reality and not superficiality…I LOVE THIS POEM.. I relaxed for over 30 yrs..I’m considered to be beautiful and sexy my most standards..i’ve now decided to stop perming going on a year now..my once mid back hair is now above shoulder length and growing. I love rocking and caring for my natural hair. Thanks for the inspiring poem!
Thanks to all those who read, UNDERSTOOD, and appreciate this poem!
This poem really cool. Truly deep. I quite agree. Good to be original and not fake.
that is your own issue keep it to your self
that is your own issue keep it to your self
stupesss in this day and age sic
Love the Poem, but chile please, my hair is a Hoe, don’t like to be alone, weave ,braides, jump from one thing to they next. Love it
What in tarnation is wrong with you people!!!
Why the need to attack the young lady like rabid animals? It is a beautiful ode to black women and who we TRULY are. The creamy crack was designed to rob you of your true sense of blackness just as your history was re-written to rob you of your great accomplishments and lineage. Enlightenment has nothing to do with hair, nothing at all, but it is a small step toward recognizing and appreciating your black roots. Stop looking for Brazilian weave to wear down to your backside. You are not Brazilian, never will be.
Ms. Registe’s poem, I am quite certain was meant to uplift, not tear down. You are tearing down your own just because she loves to wear what is God-given to her, not man-made or made in China. You relax, texturize, weave and God knows what else because you don’t like your kinky hair and that is the TRUTH!!! If you were to simply put aside what “society” dictates as “real beauty” and go back to the parts in history that speak of how your ancestors were poked, prodded and sold off like cattle, you would come face to face with how they were forced to take on another man’s religion, style of dress, language, hauty mannerisms and so much more that lent to the DECAY of our knowledge of where we came from.
I am sorry for writing a book, but lately I am utterly disgusted at how black people so quickly jump on the bandwagon to tear other black people down. Embracing the TRUE you means stripping yourselves of all that was presented to you as “acceptable. Now do yourselves and your children a favour and start reading, educating yourselves on the true identity of the black man/woman/child. That “nappy” hair is very much a great part of that education.
One love
Very amusing how you people take offence so quickly. The young lady was expressing her joy of being natural. Beautiful Poem
Thank you for sharing your views with us
i Love this poem. for get what they say its all a choice!
i like this poem n i myself just start to grow natural n this is a beautiful thing to do.
it is better to be natural than artificial
case close
Rachel I love this poem. Don’t mind those who have not found it inspiring as I did. I am a naturalista and I testify of the freedom I feel with my hair. Wish I had done this long time ago.
BTW Thank you all for reading.
Wow…seriously. I wrote this poem because of all the negative comments I received after deciding to go back natural…I honestly don’t have any problem with ladies who wear their weaves,perm,braids whatever. What you do with your hair is up to you…this poem is a response to all the negative comments I have received. I don’t go around telling other women “you should not perm your hair or you should not wear weave” YOu do what u want with my hair. and in return I don’t want women asking “what you do your hair there nuh” or saying all kinda negative things about the hair God gave me.. So if I offended anyone I apologize…. This is me saying to people it’s my hair and this is how I choose to wear it and I why I choose to wear it this way.
No need to apologize
Lovvvvin this piece of poetry. So deep!
every thing is a matter of choice. rasta girl smoke like chimney and destroy her lungs and god knows what else.
i perm and destroy something else.
mabel drinks
sharon /// like crazy
etc, etc
live and let live.
i wish lovely neat locks would appear on my head, since this miracle wouldnt happen i will continue to perm
and i walk on the streets smiling and taking the stress of life freely.
the girl with the locks swearing, hard faced, and upset with everybody
just saying. everyting we do should be personal, dont judge
How could such a lovely poem bring so much heated and senseless word slinging back and forth? The author has simply stated HER OPINION!She did NOT ONCE say that women who have relaxed hair are lesser than those with. If its JUST hair then why are some of you so riled up because others CHOOSE to be natural. All of us are beautiful in our own way!! Its one thing to have weaves and perms and wigs to LOOK beautiful but when women think that perms and weaves and wigs ARE A NEED to ” BE BEAUTIFUL” thats when we should be afraid!
“Is it better to be part artificial
Or to be 100% natural?”…. I was enjoying the poem until this statement. What’s natural is what is within you.
Thank You!!
Thank you so much for ur support! I don’t know where some of these comments stem from.
beautiful poem! From a beautiful lady.
Thanks.
I’v rocked my natural hair,rocked braids,rocked weave now im permed.im thinking of going back natural and maybe il perm again or weave or braids .i choose.im still me.
SO, rock your natural, believe me you will love who you are more.
I am not dating no sista with dread and some kind of afro or messed up hair.
And this my friend, is exactly what Bob Marley was talking about “mental slavery” …..What u call “messed up” hair is actually a long long linage of royalty
Who cares what Bob Marley says…he was high most of the time anyway
It’s because your psyche is warped!
Can you imagine a fine looking brother going out on a date and he outshines his girl because she looks like a rasta with uncombed hair or some “gwo nat chivay”.
Hells to the NO
Ladies, Ladies, Ladies…start looking fine
Its expected of you…don’t make no writer make you feel like you should go back to the stone age.
I hope you’ll put your money where your mouth is, brethren! Because looking “fine”, according to you involves “trendy hairstyles”….and they aint cheap! So, pass the $$$$
He was high all the time? lol….Atleast he wasn’t no jackfool ALL the time. For your own sorry sake go educate yourself you still suffer from NEGRO-PEAN disorder, mere slave to the illusion….Ladies that lil silly petty thinking right there should tell you who to keep from in a man or even listen to for that matter. Is ppl like him break weaken women spirits ever so often untill they are mentally broken… So all my DREADLOCKS and natural ladies, YOU’RE GORGEOUS…My ladies with perms yall are ever so lovely also no discrimination, just that original is self and must be acknowledged and adored….And another thing Rasta don’t have a “look” so that’s just another brainwash area of your brain. Gorgeous Rastafarians scatter ALL OVER U fool
@no name no warrant…everyone has their opinion but ur comment is absolutely ridiculous..
why are we ashamed of who we are, our natural hair is what God gave us. Way back in slavery days they have conditioned us to be ashamed of our nappy hair to be ashamed of our skin color even now the light color skin girls with nice soft hair get more attention than the darker color girls. If you look around you notice the poster ads, most of it has a girl or child of lighter skin color with nice hair. It is time for us to be proud of who we are stop trying to look like a white woman with artificial long hair and be proud of our own hair. When last have you seen a white woman trying to put on an afro weave, or trying to change the texture of their hair to look like ours?
wearing your hair natural,permed, wigs,weaves, make-up, no make-up etc… it doesn’t matter wear what ever you want to wear what ever makes you happy…change is always good!!
i know right! cause some women like to say that they are natural with no makeup but still got on relaxed hair…this doesn’t make you natural!
These naturalists are becoming too big for their britches! Relax all you self!
YOU ARE NOT MORE ENLIGHTENED THAT ANYBODY ELSE!!!! Stupes!
Yes they are more enlightened.
Perm and false hair are a result of self hate and a FALSE PERCEPTION OF BEAUTY.
what would you say about make-up then?
I am in 100% support of those bloggers who state quite clearly that they will not be defined by the way they chose to wear their hair. As a former 4-Her, I learnt to pledged my head for clearer thinking, my heart for greater loyalty, my hands for larger service and my health for better living – for my club, my community, country and the world. I could be a “naturalist” full of envy and hate, all about me and not about my neighbors. Does that make me more aware than my sister who perms? Quite frankly, I find this whole debate an insult to women who have fought for years to overcome all manner of barriers. Smh … well, my dears, keep on being petty. I will continue to use my hands for greater service with a heart full of love. I am not my hair.
I pray that all women who perm their hair, all their scalp will burn miserably making them bald because they lack wisdom.
You spoke about health, why not do some research into the dangers of this perm?
You realy think Allaah will answer those prayers?
You are a very troubled individual, full of self hate,prejudice and outright disrespect for women. I am fed up of telling you seek help for that before you slide any further and snap. Your comments are very disturbing.
I’m wondering why people who are natural always tend to think that someone who chooses to forgo that path is somehow a lesser being because of that choice.
i’m wondering how some women praise having the natural locks – yet forget the other things they use that’s just as fake – the nails, the makeup…
the implants….
It’s all a matter of preference and personal choice – choocing to wear your hair natural or permed will not, cannot, and won’t make you anymore or any less balck than the person who chooses to do the opposite of what you choose.
It’s like all the so called Christians out there claiming to be Christians – btu are always sometimesish and parttimeish.
So i say to all my strong black sistahs out there – YOU ARE NOT YOUR HAIR…YOU MAKEUP, YOU CLOTHES… use these to help you become more successful, more happy, more whatever you want – but do not let them BECOME you….
Black is beautiful – permed, dyed, fake, natural… just embrace each other…
You must have the ideology of a NEGRO-PEAN, a black woman with a Caucasian mentality.
A woman with permed, weaved, fake etc are a disgrace to black women. It reflects self hatred. It is a false sense of beauty.
The other night I saw a girl with lovely neat locks and her friend with permed hair, I said good night to both but I commended the one with the locks and completely disregarded the one with the perm. I HATE FALSE AND PERMED HAIR EWWWWWWWWWW!
Muslim_Always, from reading your comments on other blogs you are as fake as the women with permed here and a disgrace to women everywhere. You and those who follow your religion do not hold women in high regard so I’m wondering why you would even bother to comment here.
How are we not our hair yet marijuana is associated with dreadlocks just because?
How are we not defined by our hair when it is the only kind of hair that has been derogatorily named?
It’s funny you put more successful in there, because the truth is as black people we have been taught to dislike our hair and appearance through slavery and hence getting a job au natural means that you’re not professional, thus rendering your comment useless.
@I’mWondering
It is amazing how many people are quick to attack Christians.
First of all this topic has nothing to do with Christianity.
And secondly, if your weren’t ignorant as to what a Christian is, then maybe you will use this criticism lighter.
Christians are people who are aware that they are sinful and can only get to Heaven by God’s grace. The whole reason of being a Christian is acknowledging that the human nature is sinful (Christians do not in anyway think they are perfect; it is quite the contrary).
Christians continually go to Christ in repentance and seek righteousness…
I am tired of the ignorance of people when it comes to Chrisitianity and I hope people are not criticizing Christians as a way to critize Christ and the sacrifice He made for us (sinners) on the cross…
Remember Christ came not for the perfect, but for the people who choose to accept their sinful nature and make the decision to receive God’s forgiveness and follow God.
OMG! Thank you! I read that comment and got immediately annoyed. So amazing how people are quick to bring Christianity into every thing, without even understanding what it is.
wow!!! i see the ‘barbies’ have come out in full swing…. lol
Tell me about it M.O.T.S.
What did I say earlier? Most of these women will not take heed, do a little research into the history and harms of these foolishness they put in their hair.
Perm was manufactured unfortunately by a black person because they lived in a racist society. In order to fit into society they had to relax their hair like the whites. This same attitudes are reflected today, a bank employer would consider a “barbie” over a woman with natural hair any day. It’s how these people were trained to think.
Our women just follow the fashions and trends without any knowledge of self, the blind leading the blind.
I don’t perm my hair either because it’s naturally curly, but everyone has different tastes and styles and no matter what, a sistah will choose whatever she deems draws out her beauty.
p.s. Do you know perm was discovered by a black man? Garrett Augustus Morgan. So stop blaming other races.
Since we are on the topic of edifying black SISTAHS”, even more important than how a “sistah” CHOOSES to carry his/her hair is the manner in which we deal with one another. Competition, belittling and betraying are common traits which need to change. It is about time sistahs come together to empower each other, rather than looking down on a sistah who has yet to make it to “your” level”.
LOVE ALL MY SISTAHS
Beautifully written!
Silliness. True strength comes from the ability to choose what works best for you!
I am a beautiful black woman with my permed hair…its all a matter of choice…if some women feel comfortable going natural, then all power to them, however, I will not apologise for perming my hair…it suits me and so respect my choice as I respect yours…
Singing ” I am not my hair.. I am not this skin”… too often we look for reasons to divide us.
100% natural!!! oh how i love them natural…
Nice poem. But I’m relaxed and I don’t consider myself any less “black” than women with natural hair. Relaxed or natural makes no difference to me. There are greater issues facing us women than the state of our hair.
I could not have said it better
u’d be surprise how the state of your hair, esp. women, can affect you…. women who relaxes, perms etc… don’t want to go for a swim… dont want to do extracurricular activities… which will cause them to sweat… in so doing… they don’t exercise… now here’s where the health of many women come in to play
I do all of these activities, MOTS, as do other women with relaxed hair. There are things called shampoos and conditioners and moisturizers. And just so you know natural hair requires even more care that relaxed because it is likey to be porous and loses moisture easily. That is why you often natural hair being “hard” if not properly taken care of. It is simply a matter of knowing how to take care of your hair, relaxed or natural.
u dumb or what? so all the atheletes with weaves and relaxed hair don’t exercise? How ignorant is that?
Look, we come from many shades and many textures. Not all black women have coolie hair enough for them to let it all natural, and not all mixed women will have nice soft hair that they can just let out. In fact, majority of women here with the “natural hair” come from a line mixed races sot heir texture is not all that bad. So of course they can go natural.
I relax my hair, i run, sweat, bathe int he sea and wet my hair when i want, how i want. I occasionally wear weaves, and what ever i feel like on MY head. Point is, I can go ever which way I choose as long as i’m comfortable. I take care of my hair reguardless of what i choose to put in it and I wear it damn well too.
@it’s mine…. i see u can’t have a mature discussion/arguement… anyway… kudos to you for running n sweating in your relaxed hair…. but u aren’t the status quo for ladies… and you know it… in fact Gabby Douglas the young black woman who made history in this gymnastic olympics had to defend her natural hair preference… i also read a report showing that many black american women refuse to partake in extracurricular activities because of their hair… so again you aint the status quo… at least you are above and be proud… but don’t try to dismiss what i said as ‘utter rubbish’… because it’s impossible that u have never heard a woman refuse to do some activity because of her hair…. um dorothy let’s go to the river for a swim…. dorothy says: i don’t want to wet my hair… i just permed it etc etc.. smh
That is a great one.
Hey this is such a beautiful and refreshing piece…i am a naturalist and have been for a long time…so congratulations on writing such a lovely poem…100% natural everytime..we must always be proud of who we are and embrace ourselves fully..thanks Rachel Registe
Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
A sensible poem but how many black women will take heed in Dominica?
It’s a bloody shame!
Stupessssssssssssss
Word to the wise! Too many of our sister have fallen victim to china cheap mental slavery caps which they proudly displace as wig and weave. Now as their scalp give up the ghost all we see is baldness and more wigs. Don’t be a chemo victim by choice. Be proud of your roots show your parents some respect by showing them how proud you are of what their ancestors has pass into you instead of wishing for what is and never was yours
Kudos to all the natural sisters, including yourself but whilst we are berating women with “mental slavery caps” there are women out there being abused. How many of us worry about the future of our children or how many of us are not able to have children at all? How many of our husbands leave us home, with our relaxed or natural hair and are out there with other women? How many of us suffer emotional scars from childhood that we never learn to let go of. Or are you and your other natural friends without these issues, Natural Sister?
Be an independent woman and most of these cry will be over,also the wig.