Song of Myself

I am the post of my small house
Standing alone, holding the entire roof
Sheltering the lovely children of mine
To see that they are happy and safe
Every morning I send them away
Knowing that they will be better off
In the buildings not far away
Learning more and more about themselves
At the same time I would depart
To the small space for myself
Sewing and knitting all day long
To make my children’s dreams come true
At the end of the day I see them come back
I see them smile
I hear them laugh
I embrace my children with endless love
Being the only post under the roof

I am half the sky looking over my lovely children
On the wild and vast prairie of my African roots
At night I hear the wild beasts move
Closer and closer towards its prey
In daytime I hear the rumbles of the gun
Of the bombs and slaughter that never seem to end
I know not where their beloved father is
Perhaps long lost in the deadly desert
Buried in some unnoticeable dune
Along with his fellow men
In this land of life
I seek for water, for food
I seek for help for my children
I come across the white tents, pure as the clouds above
And see that hope is revived
With my children and myself alive
I am a mother of two, and I sing the song of myself, my life

I was the shame of my family
My neighborhood
After I fell from the golden statue
I became lost in myself in my blooming years
In the white, beguiling crystals of fantasy
And I heard the wild melodies resounding in my mind
I saw the dazzling images of the world
Upside down and broken in pieces
Reflecting the deadly portrait of myself
I was tossed away like the unwanted present
Wandering alone in the long, long nights
Trapped in this invisible maze of mine
But I knew that it was always the darkest before the dawn
And I was ready to see the sunrise of my own
So I tore down all the walls that
Blocked me from seeing the sunrise of my own
Because I longed to feel the warmth
To touch the light
To sing the song
And to live my life
And now I wake up each day
Seeing rays of sunshine surrounding, engulfing myself
As I am humming the song of my life

I am the unspeakable
The forbidden
The face behind the veil and scarf
Hidden in the corner
I exist in the chores of the housework
Yet not the bright, spacious classrooms
Where my brothers go to
But I never give up on my dream
Of sitting in a classroom, learning to write my name
I whisper my wish through the secret song of myself
And I will always fight for my place of existence
Knowing that one day I will be treated
Just as equal as my brothers
My father
And any other man