Book Highlight: Black Girls Soliloquy by Zenna Lewis

Black Girls Soliloquy: An Anthology of Poems by Her, for Her, about Her

I was amazed at the scenery as I walked through the CARIFESTA XV Grand Market in Waterford, Barbados. I passed by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines booth and a book caught my eye. I picked it up and thumbed through. Black Girls Soliloquy: An Anthology of Poems by Her, for Her, about Her contained 16 poems and I was intrigued because my Kindle book has 14 poems. I asked the people in the booth about the author and they encouraged me to visit the next day to meet her. I was attending most of the workshops at Grand Market, so the next day, I met Zenna Lewis, the author. Of course, I purchased a copy and asked her to sign my book.

As I thumbed through the pages of Black Girls Soliloquy: An Anthology of Poems by Her, for Her, about Her, I got a better understanding of the title. Here are my thoughts on each poem.

1. Demon in Disguise speaks to how women struggle to be seen as more than objects. 

2. I am Human provides a testimony of the women affected by the Demon in Disguise.

3. In Cursed, Zenna expresses those feelings we all sometimes have:

Empty
but filled with fear, anger
and regrets that hurt my heart...

But how do I solve
the conflict and the confusion? Do I just let it
Hey! I may not be an amulet of perfection....

4. Madam Anxiety tells the story of how anxiety hold us captive. She ends the piece,

Nothing is good enough
nothing will ever be good enough nothing shall ever be good
enough for this lady called madame anxiety

5. Zenna calls out our obsession with social media in Social Monster, an ode to living for likes and hearts.

6. Blackish is an anthem that reminds us to embody our melanin and strength:

...Hence, they created and fattened

an ecosystem of the deceit

that being ebony is dreary sooty....

7. Every Bob Marley fan is familiar with the song, Rat Race. Zenna's Rat Race brings a different message. This poem takes the reader on a journey that touches on what and how we were taught, our goals and how corruptions impacts us.

8. Descendants of Eve is an ode to womanhood with scriptural references, and metaphorical and real-life analogies in relation to our journey as women.

9. In Blood Sisters, our familial links are highlighted with references to the ongoing crimes that affect our young people:

I echo the injustices

of our young gunned down in potholes

in the system of inequality

10. Seen and not Heard is the shortest poem in the book, but it provides a powerful message about how we are often behind the scenes but making big impact.

11. I love the way that Zena weaved her words in Panties on the Line. This is another short poem which packs a powerful message. The poem ends:

Our panties hang on the line connected to glass on top of

equality, barely holding on by a string.

12. Dear Njinga (Queen) is an inspirational piece that every woman should read because of the positive affirmations shared.

You take air and dominate

Even when your heels are on tight...

My signed copy

13. In Our Love Philosphy, Zenna offers an ode to love and the importance of unity in a relationship. It reads like a vow from one lover to the other.

14. Between clouds 8 and 10 play on the cloud nine cliché. It is a beautiful poem with sultry expressions.

And somewhere between cloud eight and ten

I landed peacefully

15. Zenna shares sensual sentiments in Curse 2, a debate about a love affair and the feelings evoked from it. 

16. The final poem is Serve and Protect, which begins and ends with a call to action:

Sir

Minister

Monster

Here are some lines from different stanzas that evoke thought:

Murdered by his hands raped in his sheets

no answers as to why our daughters are being held captive

and selling our daughter's virginity you raped their minds

in a world where my voice is silenced by those who are assigned

our scars are visible but covered with plasters of injustice

Your wives' silence speaks so much...

I am glad that I added this book to my collection. I am even more happy that I was able to connect with Zenna. I look forward to reading more work from her in the future.