YSWNPY-Zine 20, final - Flipbook - Page 18
My Ancestors
By: Dominique Cherie
I am a culmination of my ancestors
I am a mix of cornbread
Macaroni and cheese
Collard greens
Braided hair
And ironed jeans
Dominique Cherie (she/her/hers) is the author of I Never Saw My Dog Again.
She prides herself on being labeled as a writer, artist, and follower of Christ.
With a love of self expression that was cultivated in childhood, she has
taken to writing children's books, managing personal blogs, photography,
and learning of Doula and Herablist traditions, in her spare time.
Instagram: @thedomcherie
Facebook: @thedomcherie
Twitter: @thedomcherie
I am the product of hands that picked cotton
And ingenuity that won’t be forgotten
I am the voices of caution
That taught us, to be respectful and kind
Yet, wise
Because, as grandma used to put it
“Those people are not your friends”
I am formed of greased faces
And kneeling in prayer to God
Who has been most gracious
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YOUR SILENCE WILL NOT PROTECT YOU 18
I am made from the fabric of communal raising And hair, that just won’t be unkinked
Or fully straightened
I am the reflection of experiences untold
And concepts like “good hair”
That shape and mold, who you become
I am remnants of the South
With traditions and isms
Carried down from generation
To generation
I am Black
I am brown
I am part of a people, whose existence
Is resistance
And so
I will covet every part of me
And love it
I will share
And pridefully bare
All of the things I was unaware of
That have made me, me
Because, I am a culmination of my ancestors
Photo by Jessica Felicio on Unsplash
