UNBOUND
Here I do stand before you tonight,
But on my ass
Waters from my eyes dripping,
Epidermis of my lips cracking,
Windows of my ears shattering
Bits of my heart breaking
Pieces that crumble as I scramble my way to perfection
In a society filled with imperfection
Rendering the existence of perfection,
The word not the action
To be but only a human aspiration
So comprehension of words is no longer by dictionary definition
But social power
Weird huh! How a “whoever” sets the standards of who’s beautiful or ugly,
Who is weaker or stronger, who is intelligent or dense!
Tricky! right? That as a Black woman I’m supposed to be “white” or “masculine” to be
considered pretty, intelligent or strong.
That when I twerk as a Black girl, I’m called a slut yet when Miley Cirrus does exactly the same
she’s praised hands down
Goodness gracious me!
Where does this standardization come from?
Who the hell has the measuring scale for all these qualities?
So if I put on a mini skirt and you feel it inappropriate or too short
If you cannot control your emotions, then deal with it
And if you find me putting on my hijab and you find it too long to satisfy your optical nutrition.
If you cannot stand me then swallow it.
For I am female, exquisitely and elegantly woman
Black, bold, brainy and beautiful
One whose gorgeous eyes get you spinning by just a glimpse
One whose voluptuousness doubles your life span by just a glance
One whose reproductive system is the only path way for your genus procreation.
Ahmmm,
I said, I am female, exquisitely and elegantly woman
One whose physique mercilessly gets your head turning
One whose stride destabilizes your stability
One without whom your DNA can not be replicated
One whose fruits and vegetables leave you panting
I ain’t bragging here, there are no blurred lines
No! I’m just naturally endowed
So blame me not for your feeble minds that think a “Woman’s body” is for visual pleasure,
sexual pleasure or entertainment.
I am negative 200% compared to that
I am a full package; my body is unbound and mine alone
I choose to dress, grow thin and fat as I please.
So! My dear boyfriend, if you ever threaten to chuck me because I’ll have put on more weight.
I’ll proudly tell you, Goodbye Honey you can leave
Because clearly, I can’t convince to a Monkey that Honey is sweeter than Banana.
And my dearest lovely husband, if you ever start to sleep around,
Anticipate divorcing me or suggest supplementing me
Because with age, I’ll have started to suffer a severe appearance deficiency.
I’ll gladly kiss you goodbye and whisper “Enjoy your stay elsewhere”
Because obviously I’ll have observed growing prettier down the years.
But for this Planet of Venus I possess
I ain’t going change nothing about it for no lumpen out there
I’m not going to starve myself, go to FACO or use bleaching agents or anti-aging creams because
“so and so” is not appealed by the way I look.
My existence on this planet is not based on how you view me
I ain’t a Pleaser
I am the navy blue sky up above,
Sun setting and rising is part of my stature
I turn and twist by nature
Blowing away winds of pain
Bringing with me pieces of Peace to reign
I am female, exquisitely and elegantly woman, by dictionary definition not the World view’s comprehension
And hey! If you think it’s easy being one
Then maybe just maybe, you should ask Bruce Jenner or rather “Caitlyn Jenner.”
Thank you….
Hawa Nanjobe — Uganda (Hawa Nanjobe Kimbugwe is one of the most renowned Performance Poets based in Uganda. Her Poetry began as a road trip but, a journey at Nabisunsa Girls’ School where she was a harnessing member of the poetry club that was dubbed “The Rhymers.” It continued to the Uganda National Cultural Centre (National theatre) where she joined a group of intellectuals known as The Lantern Meet of Poets, here she got an opportunity to perform on stage theatre for the first time. From then onwards she never turned back. She is currently the Poetry Shrine Coordinator at Kitara Nation.
Hawa births her poetry to mould it into a growing child that has to go through Phases of life, learning lessons, choosing wisely at times, sometimes wrongly. Bringing it up to be an adult that’s filled with consciousness yet friendly to humanity.
Her Poetry is persons! Who are we? What do we believe in? Why do we live and what for? What do we purpose??)
