My Own Path
I am Black. I am a woman.
I’m a legacy and a tapestry.
I’m a perfect bouquet
that grew in the pavement,
breaking through stone,
through glass, silt, and defacement.
With the day looming over me,
I feel the heat of my need.
I am done with subservience,
and I’m picking up speed.
I walk out the front door with a flourishing swish.
I take all that I have,
every hunger, hope, and wish.
I am the power that I represent.
I am absolute, one hundred percent.
Each hardship, each roadblock,
every wall that seeks to contain me
may slow me but will never restrain me.
None of it held me, nor will it ever.
I do not concede, no not I, no never.
I was raised to break ceilings,
and I’m dressed to impress.
I know that my own path is the absolute best.
Let your cold eyes wash over my back,
for the chill does not touch me
when I am on the attack.
Only ever a woman and unabashedly Black,
I wouldn’t change if I could,
because there’s nothing I lack.
The history of my family
is burned into my skin,
but it only serves as a window
to the beauty within.
Where injustice would ring,
it will find me waiting.
Eager to leave its ugly face
popped, cracked, and deflating.
A Black woman walking through a door holding a wallet.
Multiple Choice Question
Read the following stanza from My Own Path.
None of it held me, nor will it ever.
I do not concede, no not I, no never.
I was raised to break ceilings,
and I’m dressed to impress.
I know that my own path is the absolute best.
Which definition BEST describes the meaning of to break ceilings as it is used in this context?
A.
to be confident and powerful
B.
to overcome barriers to advancement
C.
to remodel houses
D.
to fight social injustices