Glazed chicken wings served on a rustic plate with historical elements symbolizing African American food heritage and the legacy of slave food

Glazed and Gentrified

Serenite Hope July 14, 2025

I ate chicken wings and chuckled.

Because chicken wings were once slave food.

Back when the “good cuts” went to the master’s table,

and we were left with scraps, bones, and bruises.

But survival makes artists out of the desperate.

We seasoned struggle, fried it crisp,

and turned into a delicacy

what was meant to mock us

The audacity—

for him to look over,

see us not just surviving

but thriving

licking our fingers in joy—

and decide he wants that too.

So now the wing has been elevated.

High-priced.

Artisan.

Deli meat for the gentrified.

Bar food for the hip.

Instagram-famous.

You need a small loan to eat what once got laughed off the plate.

The poor man can no longer afford

what he created to survive.

Because even joy seasoned with hardship

had to be taken too.

You know it’s petty

when food is involved.

If you liked this, you might also enjoy I Didn't Come Here to Suffer , If I Can See Your Blueprint, You Owe Me Rent and She is not nothing. So she must be something. What Is Not A Woman?

For the search bar warriors:

A sharp and witty take on how chicken wings went from slave food to overpriced deli item. Even our joy wasn’t safe from being stolen.

This post dives into the history of chicken wings, exploring how chicken wings were originally slave food and became a popular American delicacy. It discusses how enslaved people turned discarded food into flavorful meals and how cultural appropriation of Black food traditions has led to the gentrification of chicken wings. Topics include the rising cost of chicken wings, how food that was once cheap is now expensive, and how soul food has been co-opted by restaurants and deli culture. If you're interested in the cultural history of food, Black culinary innovation, or how slave food became gourmet, this post explains it all.

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Whispers of Healing (Digital Edition) Short Stories, Essays, and Poetry on Survival, Boundaries, and Choosing Yourself

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🎁 WINTER HEALING SALE | Now through March 2026

Special seasonal pricing to support your healing journey this winter

This isn't poetry. It's survival disguised as softness.

Nothing scripted. Nothing polished. Just truth.

In the spirit of Milk and Honey meets I Need a Therapist but I Have a Notebook, Whispers of Healing is for the ones learning to breathe again after the storm—those rebuilding quietly, forgiving loudly, and finding themselves in the small, unphotographed moments of peace.

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✨ EPUB format – Read on any e-reader or device

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From family wounds to spiritual resilience, from laughter that masks pain to the courage of walking away, Serenite Hope writes for those who've carried too much and kept going anyway.

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This Isn't Your Traditional Poetry Book

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Quiet reflections on loss, grief, and forgiveness
Honest depictions of family dysfunction, emotional neglect, and the courage to leave
Gentle reminders for empaths and over-givers learning self-preservation
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Rupi Kaur • Morgan Harper Nichols • Cleo Wade • Amanda Lovelace • Alex Elle • Brianna Wiest

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Poetry • Self-Help & Personal Growth • Women's Studies • African American Literature • Memoir • Mental Health • Family Relationships • Inspirational & Motivational • BIPOC Authors

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Healing • Boundaries • Self-Love • Trauma Recovery • Family Dysfunction • Narcissistic Parents • Toxic Relationships • Emotional Intelligence • Inner Child Healing • Empaths • Highly Sensitive People • Black Women's Experiences • Cultural Commentary • Spiritual Growth • Emotional Abuse Recovery • Codependency • Setting Boundaries with Family

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Every Shade of Human (Digital Edition) Raw Poetry and Prose on Identity, Trauma, and the Unfiltered Human Experience

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"This isn't poetry. It's emotional damage with line breaks. Nothing scripted. Nothing softened. Just human."

In the tradition of Milk and Honey meets The Princess Saves Herself in This One, but sharper, rawer, and refusing to perform palatability—Every Shade of Human is a collection that speaks to anyone who's ever been told they're "too much" while quietly carrying everything.

What's Included in This Digital Edition:

✨ EPUB format – Read on any e-reader or device

📄 PDF format – Exact replica of the print edition with original typography and layout

💬 25 Exclusive stickers in PDF + PNG for your journals or your walls

What Readers Are Saying:

"The most honest thing I've read in years. I felt seen in ways I didn't know I needed."

"Finally, a poetry collection that doesn't sugarcoat survival."

From boundary-setting and emotional boundaries to healing from narcissistic mothers and recovering from toxic relationships, Serenite Hope explores the full spectrum of being human—the grief and the laughter, the rage and the rest, the self-love journey without the toxic positivity.

This isn't your traditional poetry book. There are no chapters. No neat categories. Just thoughts arriving the way thoughts actually do—messy, honest, unfiltered.

Inside These Pages:

Raw truth about family trauma and mother-daughter relationships
Sharp observations on modern dating, beauty standards, and why we confuse performance for connection
Stories of setting boundaries with family, walking away from emotionally unavailable men, and choosing yourself without guilt
Humor that cuts through the chaos (yes, there's a piece about a Nokia phone vibrating in an unfortunate location)
Permission to be multiple contradictory things at once—soft and sharp, forgiving and done, spiritual and skeptical

For Readers Of:

Rupi Kaur • Amanda Lovelace • R.H. Sin • Trista Mateer • Cleo Wade • Alex Elle • Nikita Gill

Perfect If You're Searching For:

Poetry about toxic mothers and narcissistic parents
Books about healing from childhood trauma and emotional abuse
Self-love poetry for women and women of color
Emotional abuse recovery and trauma healing
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Black women writers and BIPOC poets
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You've been called "cold" for having standards
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You're healing from family trauma while people tell you "but they're your family"
You see through people's performances and it's exhausting
You're learning that self-preservation isn't selfish

No trigger warnings. No content disclaimers.

Just the full, unedited truth of navigating life as someone who feels everything and sees clearly.

Genre & Categories:

Poetry • Self-Help & Personal Growth • Women's Studies • African American Literature • Memoir • Mental Health • Family Relationships • Inspirational & Motivational • BIPOC Authors • Feminist Literature

Topics & Themes:

Healing • Boundaries • Self-Love • Trauma Recovery • Family Dysfunction • Narcissistic Parents • Toxic Relationships • Emotional Intelligence • Inner Child Healing • Empaths • Highly Sensitive People • Black Women's Experiences • Cultural Commentary • Mother-Daughter Relationships • Emotional Abuse Recovery • Identity • Self-Discovery • No-Contact Family • Dating After Trauma

Download instantly. Feel everything. Apologize for nothing.

Prefer a physical copy? Get the Paperback

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Glazed and Gentrified

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What's Included in This Digital Edition:

What Readers Are Saying:

This Isn't Your Traditional Poetry Book

Inside These Pages:

For Readers Of:

Perfect If You're Searching For:

This Book Will Speak to You If:

Genre & Categories:

Topics & Themes:

What's Included in This Digital Edition:

What Readers Are Saying:

Inside These Pages:

For Readers Of:

Perfect If You're Searching For:

This Book Will Speak to You If:

Genre & Categories:

Topics & Themes:

If this one found you, maybe these will too...