Woman

Woman
A prayer whispered from the cracks of a broken heart
God give me a child
And so she came into waiting hands
Into disappointed stares and heavy breathing
Loud hissing ushered her in
She was ignored from the precipice of her announcement
The one before her who bore her
Was shamed as if it was not a miracle that escaped her throbbing thighs
As though the pain in her body was a waste
The ache in her chest was foolishness
Because it brought forth a girl
A woman in cradle form
What a shame O ma se o Tufiakwa

Woman
She learned her name
And quickly learnt her place
To wash plates Make the bed Cook the food
No space to balance
No room to Dream
Because ambition was reserved for the men
Who will marry a woman who has too much?
She will ask who am I and they will put a broom in her hands
Stuff her head with confusion for answers
She will learn the hard way that talking has consequences
She will learn to swallow her words and die in silence

She will be told to shrink
To fit into the folds of tradition
To bend like the branches of her mother's spine
To not speak unless spoken to
To laugh soft kneel low stay quiet
She will measure herself in sacrifice
Her body a currency
Her worth an exchange
She will carry the world and still be asked
What else do you do?

But she will not be forgotten
Because deep inside her
A rhythm beats that no silence can drown
A memory of freedom wrapped in the shape of her grandmother's voice
A stubbornness carved into her bones by generations
Who dreamed but never reached
She will rise from kitchens and corridors
From corners where she was folded
She will stretch
Grow teeth
Grow roots
Grow wings

My mother
Crafted fire in my bones
Whispered braveness into every crack
Gathered dust and made a monument
She held me close
Wrote prayers on the lining on of my skin
Like a commandment
There is love at home
You were made for more

My father
He would tell me
There's no sky too big that you cannot fit in
He Taught me how to dream
How to excavate fear from my remains
How to vanquish the doubts
How to stand tall
There is love at home for this woman

Woman
She has relearned her name
She knows her place
It is here in this big wide world
Sitting among the stars
Piercing through the darkness
Rewriting history

And when she's done
The world will remember her
As whole As full As colorfully worthy
It will carry the echo of her becoming
In lullabies and legacies
In every little girl told to hush
She is the answered prayer
The quiet revolution
The voice that rose even when it trembled
She is you She is me She is all of us

So walk in your fullness
Stand in your light
There is space here for your softness
Your strength
Your story
I hope you never forget
You were never too much
You were always enough
So Take up space like it was promised
Let the world adjust to your brilliance
Let the wind learn your name