Cocoa Butter Kisses

Cocoa Butter Kisses.

I was born the only boy out of five girls,
the family baby put into a cradle
and rocked back and forth,
wrapped in covers of soft words and phrases
under the faces of those who loved me.

As I cried and flailed, they told me
how they wished for me and how
I was going to be a great little brother.
They were going to teach me about girls
and help me with my homework,
show me how to ride a bike,
show me how to write and speak--
they were finally going to be big sisters
for the little boy they wished for
just one year ago.

They towered over me
poking my cheeks with delicate fingers
kissing me on my forehead,
and their fragrance was that of heaven to me.
I still remember the light cocoa butter kisses
they smothered me with--
soft and soothing,
or like sparks of lights hovering around me,
tickling my cheeks,
enticing me to giggle and smile.

My sisters held me closely.
Their big bright eyes dark as midnight skies
had sparkles of joy in them
and they told me their names:

"Ty-ee-sha , Tyisha."
She was very small with greased braided cornrows
and bobbles that were a pearly white.
She was lighter skinned like caramel chocolate
and loved to caress my face
and run her fingers in my nappy hair
twisting it and .

Then there was the other one.
She was just a slender as Ty-ee-sha
but bigger in a sense with dark chocolate skin
and a rounded face with a big white smile.
Her hair was flat and put into pigtails.
She took her finger and poked it into her chest:
"Ka-dee-Sha , Kadisha!"

They ran their hands through my hair
and I smiled a bright day had emerged
from the mountain side,
giving me warmth after years of cold and snow.

Even now I smile
because of their Cocoa Butter Kisses.