Call for nature
This poem is inspired by the societal norms that make abuse of women and children commonplace in the communities we live in.
The family has failed us
They want us to swallow our pain
As bitter as it is
to save the family name
Haibo! what will people say?
bury yourselves in the shame,
you are woman
Endurance be your middle name.
…
The society has failed us
they ask us what we wore,
where we were,
why we were with them,
why did we drink,
what did we drink,
why didn’t we say no,
why did we pass out,
why didn’t we say anything earlier,
what do we hope to achieve
by publicizing
the violence inflicted on us
They still deal with the devils
advocating
admonishing us in the process.
You are woman,
Too sensitive for your own good.
Sure you didn’t act like you want it?
…
The police have failed us
They want “cold drink”
so that they can employ their privilege
for us
They want cold drink
so they can lift the pen to record our abuse,
cold drink for the arrest warrants,
cold drink for the petrol of the patrol car,
cold drink to speak to us
like the humans we claim to be,
cold drink.
cold drink.
cold drink.
You are woman,
Pain and suffering is scriptured for you.
…
The government has failed us
They don’t even flinch
at our cries for help anymore,
they pretend we are not scarred,
we suffer from over imagination
they pretend we are not screaming,
they pretend we are not suffering,
they pretend we are not traumatized,
they pretend we don’t exist,
wounded children,
mauled women
victims of the systematization of the patriarchy.
You are woman,
We ll get to your needs last.
…
So
ladies and gentle men,
I ask again
when do we start punishing
rapists and abusers
in the streets like they deserve?
When do we drag them out
by hair from their houses,
work places,
churches,
mosques and synagogues,
hospitals, schools,
When do we read them their sins
from a loudspeaker,
and stone and stamp
and turn them into pulp
in tune to loud music
from rented speakers
make a proper spectacle of their death.
We need to desecrate their bodies,
mangle them to bits and pieces
easier to digest for Mother Earth.
