Ugly Stories
(Published
in the May 2012 edition of Blackberry, a magazine)
I
Whisperer
You flail
upon the ground,
wail and
conceal your face.
And I
stand before your naked grave.
Headlines
scream your story.
Speak to
me, my sisters.
Tell me
how it feels
to know
such darkness.
Your
stories sap my marrow
but they
must be heard and
I must
tell them again and again.
II
Migrant
Wrong
race, religion,
class,
gender,
stray dog
in alien town,
my dream
to climb to the top
has left
me a scalded fright.
III
Spurned Love
I
listened to my doubts,
rejected
marriage.
An acid
tantrum seared my face.
This
man’s pride is stronger
than
professed love.
No other
shall have or love me.
IV
Runaway
Desire
for liberty cost me freedom.
Father stakes
his claim,
vows to
take the life he created.
.
Cringing,
tight-lipped mother
sneaks me
crumbs.
V
Bride Price
Mothers
choose,
aunts and
grandmothers
approve
the verdict,
decide
who wins the village beauty.
I am
carted away, a trophy,
intelligence
no part of my worth.
The price
I fetch fills coffers.
VI
Between Rocks
Swaddled
in old culture cocoon,
I craved
to be a butterfly.
A tug of
war and cries of family shame
hurtled
me into a freezing river.
My
coffin, a car
rocked by
water’s rush,
sits on a
bed of smooth blue stones.
No one
heard my screams.
VII
Because I Am A Woman
They fear
us
bearers
of the human race,
fear our
beguiling eyes,
alluring
smell, cotton-candy voice,
youth,
beauty, robust hips,
our womb.
Raped
because I
am a woman,
my outcry
provoked
a hail of
stones,
sparked a
deadly crush.
Silenced
because I
am a woman.
VIII
A Place Where Sons Are Kings
When I
see my baby girl,
agony
shrouds my face, jolts my bones.
Mouths
groan and pelt bitter blame,
three
daughters are unforgivable.
Unborn
sons do not wish
to be cradled
by hands that
have held
only daughters.
In the
name of unborn sons,
I have
sacrificed daughters,
heard
their strangled cries.
My
daughter’s death is swift
and so is
mine,
in a
world where sons are kings.
Althea
Romeo-Mark © 19.02.2012
Alisha
Sommer
Editor
BLACKBERRY: a magazine
Editor
BLACKBERRY: a magazine
Amazing stuff, Althea, very powerful. And very topical, too. Congratulations on tackling such a difficult subject – you're a star! Most importantly, though, let's hope this kind of mistreatment of women will soon be a thing of the past!
ReplyDeleteMuch Love and Peace to you and yours
Margret
Reading your poems is like tucking yourself in a corner and taking some yummy cookies, one at a time and screaming no, when the last piece is inevitably gone. So tasty, my friend!
ReplyDeleteWomen of all cultures (and men too, of course)have endured too many atrocities. The horrible, hellish incidents are now coming to light because of the media and the internet. I felt I had to give voices to them. Not a week passes without an ugly story raring its head.
ReplyDeleteReally powerful, Althea. My favourites are Whisperer and Because I am Woman...but they're all really compelling...and sad.
ReplyDelete