Women.
A poem by Natalie Chisikana.
The Women in my family
Are bold, beautiful and powerful
Between their hips they bring bundles of joy
A new life
A new start
The Women in my family
Present the impossible before men
Are leaders of their tribe
Hustlers in their towns
By all means mighty and blessed
The Women in my family
Are survivors
Survivors of hardship and Abuse
Overpower negativity with an open mind
Soulful and joyful
Life's best fruit
The Women in my family
Are leaders
Leaders of tomorrow
The shapers of the Present and Future
Societies Worst Enemy
In competition we are
With hate we Love
The Women in my family
Are courageous
Endure the pain life comes with
The Women in my family
Are hopeful
Yesterday was Yesterday
It had its Worst
But tomorrow is a new day
The Women in my family
Love abundantly
Give birth to what you nature
Love and cherish
You refer to them as attractive
Beautiful
Yet you turn against them
The Women in my family
Are being
Hung at your Mercy
Live in fear
Fear of wearing what they like
Go where they want
The Women in my family
Are being
Imprisoned with chains
At the mercy of your Anger
THE LACK OF EMOTIONS
THE LACK OF EXPRESSING
BECAUSE MEN DON'T CRY
The Women in my family
TRIBE, SOCIETY
WE ARE ALL ONE
The Women in my family
This Woman
She is independence
The foundation of the inner core
The hope of her villagers
The acceptor of her lesson
The reconstruction of her mistakes
She my friend is something bigger
Through her many seeds are produced
Without her none can survive
Just like flowers
She gives of a scent
When she crushed
And devoured
Who is she
She is her uniqueness
Demands attention by just her presence
The anti-venom to your words of hatred
She is someone the world refuses to acknowledge
See her past brought her here
From her ancestral roots
To the bloody streets of the Cape Flats
She remains that being no man can reject
She dances to her beat
Her happiness is renewed
From her melanin skin
To thick thighs
She is Power
She is a shield
She has Power just like You
But Women
They say is the reason
BUT without Women
Who will carry
The
Seed
Photos by Jessica Felicio and Douglass Bagg.