TWO POEMS

 

by Keeley Bernard

                           

                                                           

THE WOMEN

 

I'm thankful for the women

​

The Gwendolyn Brooks

The Bell Hooks

​

The Simone Biles

The Jordan Chiles

​

Allyson Felix,

one of the fastest women to run

Serena Williams,

tennis's number one

​

Rosa Parks,

who sat down to stand up

Ruby Bridges,

who went to school and didn't let the hate disrupt

​

Beyoncé Knowles,

a true superstar of her generation

Rebeca Andrade,

whose win helped define a nation

​

Robyn Fenty, 

who does it all

Michelle Obama,

who helped a country stand tall

​

Maya Angelou,

whose achievements can make a whole book

Coco Gauff,

who was talented enough at age 15 to make everyone look

​

Tina Turner,

the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll"

Aretha Franklin,

the "Queen of Soul"

​

Venus Williams,

one of tennis's all-time greats

Crystal Dunn,

a World Cup winner with the United States

​

Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson

NASA's mathematicians

Janet Jackson,

a music magician

​

I'm thankful for the success

of these

wonderful

women

​

​

IN YOUR EYES

​

the sunlight reflects off of your eyes

or rather—your eyes create light that the sun reflects

who's to say you're not the source

          of all the light in this world

          or all the life in this world

your lips breathe life into me

your eyes are beacons of light to me

          and in them, I realize spending forever with you is right for me

​

* * *

​​

Keeley Bernard is a senior double majoring in English and mathematics at Tuskegee University. She is a 2024–2025 HBCU White House Scholar, a Tuskegee University Presidential Scholar, and an Alvin Blount Scholarship recipient. She hopes to one day become an HBCU president, working to address educational inequalities and give back to the communities that have given her so much, including Mother Tuskegee.