This is a poem for Brown Women
For brown women who do the work without being asked
For brown women who work 2, 3 jobs with little pay
For brown women who drive minivans
For brown women whose credibility is questioned in white spaces and in black spaces because there are no spaces for them
For Filipina nurses who drive their kids to CCD at night
For Korean moms who pack kimchi in their kids’ lunches instead of Lunchables
For Dominican moms who make mangú on Sundays
For brown women who suffer in silence
For brown women who are entrepreneurs
For brown women who do the work that nobody else wants to do
For brown women who go back “home” to a faraway land they left many years ago to care for their dying parents
For brown women who like clean houses
For brown women who make you take your shoes off in their house
For brown women who support their kids even when they don’t understand them
For brown women who paid for band camp
For brown women who care for everybody
For brown women who are hurt
For brown women who make your clothes smell like curry for an entire week at school
For brown women who want the best for you with a side of respectability politics
For brown women who don’t complain when they should or could
For brown women who know how to “do” black hair
For brown women who wanted to start a new life for themselves because “home” was not an option
For brown women whose hair is curly or wavy, kinky or straight
For brown women, you should know your dreams are never too late