And so, mother held you close in her warm embrace
Looked you in the eyes and told you, you were pretty
Told you never to think of yourself less than a woman who was both worthy and with dignity.
Even though Daddy was hardly home, and whenever he did show up, he made you guys feel like dirt
And you could understand the [pain she went through to say those words “pretty, worthy, dignity”

Because it was quite impossible for you to see past through those scars on her face
The imprints of Daddy’s fist, that stamped every inscription on her once perfect once-upon-a-time glory for a face – now looking like a pile of trash
Swollen eyes, lips torn apart, counting the millions of tears that fell to her palm, that she tried to hide to protect her pride
And with every saliva that he spat out of his mouth to her broken down beaten body, made the words “pretty, worthy, dignity” become more and more of a myth: not real

Trust your peers in school, to always be there for you
With their ever lashing words, speaking on you
Because your family was poor, Mummy didn’t have much too, but for comforting words
So your tattered faded blue colour uniform, became your classmates easy pickings for punch lines
And your ever overdue hair that always begged for fixing became a perfect place for them to poke their biros and pencils in

Lets not forget the name calling, “ugly duckling”
Because your skin wasn’t as bright as theirs and you didn’t smell lovely like the morning rose petals
Or “block head” because you weren’t that smart
Although it wasn’t your fault, you always had to stay back home to take of Mum, who was always ill from the beatings, So sometimes you had to skip classes
And the worst of them all “born by mistake” well it only sounded like a replay, hearing it from their lips
Because your Daddy, he used it on you, all the time, all the way
From the time you could seat up straight and walk on your own two feet
To all of your birthday parties he did forfeit, on the 7th and on the 12th, it was the same
And he was supposed to be your Dad, was being a father and a husband too much?, you asked those questions, time and time again until you hit puberty and your body started to change
You started to look like one to be desired

And then out of the blues, he came along, the stranger, the boy who smiled at you in ways no one had ever smiled at you before
He said sweet music to your eardrums, words your heart had long itched for, He told you, you were beautiful beyond description
He told you, you were pretty worthy and with dignity, said it even better than mummy did
He treated you like a queen, royalty, and so for the fear of not letting this fairy tale disappear
You willingly gave him the diamonds in between your legs and the gold treasures hidden in the confines of your chest as well
But after he had relished the taste of you, He too disappeared, but not after treating you like dirt

But you blamed yourself, you felt it was all your fault
You didn’t talk smart like the girls up north, you didn’t look like the ladies in the magazines he had bought
No hour glass figures, your hips weren’t shaped nice, you didn’t kiss fine, you didn’t walk right
And so when the next stranger came along, you did all your best to make him stay, but the story was ever thesame, for the next boy and the next show and the next home
Until it dawned on you from the pit of hell itself that maybe, just maybe, God himself must certainly hate you
And why shouldn’t He? When everyone else He had created despitefully used you, except for Mummy

Love, dignity and self worth, became a fairy tale, never to come by you, until that fateful day
Mummy was lying terribly ill on her bed with life, slowly slipping from her grip and light coldly fading from her eyes
And with her dying breath she said “Child, you mean the world to me, so mean everything to yourself by unlocking all of the potentials within you, never end up, like this!”
“See, no man will bestow upon you dignity, or oil your pride if you do not first do it from the inside
Pity is easy to get, but for dignity you must strive to earn, love and respect from others first comes from love and respect from yourself and above all God as well

Recognize this truth and you will understand that He created you so much carefully, not needing the extra pleasantries
Not needing the extra make up or fake ups to conceal your scars
See, your scars are your trophies, the ones that show how much victory you’ve won
So never be ashamed to put them on, never be ashamed to wear your anger, you have the right to be angry too when your heart is hit, never let anybody shut you up!
Never search for your happiness and fulfilment in another man and not even in yourself because you are not capable of giving it at its best

See, true love and happiness, fulfilment comes from God himself, bask in his love, make him become the air that your breath
And then He will show you how much purposely purposed he has purposely created you to be”
And then with her last breath and her last strength, Mother held you close in her warm embrace
She looked you in the eyes and then she told you, you were pretty, told you never to think of yourself less a woman who was both worthy and with dignity
See life is fulfilling when you live it outside the confines of your fears

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Feminist Fire is basically acknowledging strength even in weakness. This poem tells the tale of young lady who has known emotional abuse all her life and the experiences she had to go through as she navigates life. The focus of the poem is to show that even in the midst of all the things she went through one thing remains certain; the value of a woman is priceless.

People say females should be treated with equality, but I say they should be treated even better! Feminist fire is about us not denying the fact that no one is perfect, but even in our imperfections still not succumb to pressure and stand up to oppression.

Thank you

See the link to the contest page