As Ekwefi I have lived
As a woman in Umofia I have toiled
I have suffered the pain and the violent blows of my husband
OKONKWO
Who puts pride above everything else
I have overcome the brutality of my womb
And the pain of child bearing
I have struggled for a voice to call my own
To have a possessive claim of my being
In which Umofia listens to my heathen soul

I have struggled for a voice so formidable
That it can allow me to forgive what Mother Nature had done to me
I have struggled to break free
Of the bonds that have crippled me and antagonized me

In a society where men have the upper- hand
A woman is nothing
Only feeble-minded
She is only seen as a source of reproduction
Her body instrumental for the betterness of mankind
She has no freedom in a society dominated by ridiculous laws
Laws that have no provisions concerning women

A woman is only fit to pound Fufu
To pound the stubborn yams till they split and surrender
Until they mesh like soft thick wool
Pound them until your hands have no more free-will
And your hips lose balance to the beat of the evening drum
And you hair smells like strong thick paste of FUFU
That has inhibited your helpless soul

I detest to this society
That is destined to cripple me and blind me
To shield me away from beauty and serenity
I detest to this society of men who wish to protect
With no intention to protect

They do not know of us women, us mothers
Who have toiled in the land of the oppressors
They do not know of the days when I cry endlessly
To be free of the pain that has choked me
Left me ignorant and silent
To be free of the tufia of the ogbonje
That has swarmed my womb and deprived me of fertility

As Ekwefi I have lived
As a woman in Umofia I have been trapped
In an endless knot where freedom is only a dream to be dreamed about
Where fear is a gruesome reality

As a woman I have starved
As a mother I have been ignored the fruits of life

I am a mother
Who wishes to be no more
My life serves no purpose….
For a society that is blinded by its own truth

Umofia
This is for you
Wake up and nurture the women who have hurt
Wake up and heal the mothers you have killed in spirit
Wake up and realize your foolishness and selfish pride
Wake up and give credit where credit is due