Shy Black Girl

Boy do I wish I had a dollar,
One bill for every single time,
I’m just minding my own business,
And someone is demanding that I smile...
“Why you look so mean?”
“Aww, I know it’s not that bad...?”
Whereas I WAS chilling before,
Having a good day,
This kind of thing makes me mad...
I only speak when I need to,
And I don’t like eyes all on me,
I’m not angry or sad,
And I wish you’d worry more about you,
& Less about me.
You can’t just be a quiet black girl,
Nope, they’ll assume you live with your nose in the air,
You can’t simply just be introvert,
Nope, gotta make the world comfy,
Plaster on that smile you don’t really feel.
Gotta code-switch,
Defenses up when you walk out of the door,
Gotta be someone totally different,
And it’s draining,
but there’s no choice but to endure more.
Gotta be loud and proud,
Gotta be seen and heard,
Or else they’ll overlook you
Out in the real world,
Out in the real world...
It’s hard to navigate as a shy Black girl.