Untold Stories of She
19 March, 2009 | 7 comments | Category: for.the.love.of.words!, poetry, prose.tales, thinking...
from silence emerges the invisible hero.
cast in a supporting role
she shuffles quickly behind man, carrying the bucket.
mopping stanking rubbish and residue
with her calloused hands that grip flaming coals…
and her belly that muffles pain.
like light and moths her womanhood lures together people
her wisdom hidden in her womb
in silence it bears history and culture
with depth apparent only through action and nurture…
for words forsake her…
words overlook
diminish and maim her
into an object,
a sweep or blanket
a workhorse, a maid
a silent ornament in the scenery
Wonder how she felt
how she’d vent
what she dreamed
…imagination lit
what she desired
…body aflame
what she pondered…
when she seeps pleasurable tastes
as if thoughts were cough drops from her intellect.
Did she ever say, or was she never heard?
When? to hear her ululations as they reverberate from center stage…
They said…
“Nothing has really happened until it has been recorded.”
So…She existed?
The individual. Not a skirt among the masses.
Not a scarf among the others. not Misses Proxy.
Looking to hear Miss Loud Foxy.
Stories
…she’s the one who told stories.
the oral historian teeming with juicy tales
mostly abound with stories of the men of her family.
casually more absent than present…
those rambunctious heroes with puffed chests and boisterous yelps…
The soldier who died too young after his trip to the Ogaden.
The adventurer who disappeared into the deep south of cental Ethiopia, Arusi.
The intellectual who mounted francophone education brought on the Addis-Djibouti train
The geologist who mapped the vast lands of the horn of africa, pioneering his field.
The student activist who hid away in roofs from the junta red terror police.
The doctor, a former Haile Selassie boy scout, healed patients across the world.
The farmer who tilled the family land
The auto-mechanic who drove jeep convertibles and fixed archaic Italian fiats.
Interestingly, her life mostly featured courageous women.
Though ears strain for their stories…
I pick up whispers, hush-hushed…
The widow entrepreneur who sold injera on dusty streets under umbrellas blocking a fiery sun
The live-in Italian household maid who financed the men’s education
The wife who walked +50km fleeing an abusive man chased by coarse hills, desolation
The homemaker & her shenanigans: sifting, sewing, boiling, sweeping for her family institution
The mother who showered care, thought and exertion to nurture those around her
The controversial bride whose wedding featured an ex-suitor & his blazing guns
The old maid – a failure for not catching the eligible man
The single professional woman building a house in the outskirts of town
stories of She. Untold.
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7 comments to “Untold Stories of She”
Nani, March 19th, 2009 at 4:38 pm:
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To all the invisible mothers, sisters, aunts, gradmas, cousins, … may there come a time when we’ll all be seen and recognized, not for the way we look, but for what we do, what we are capable of doing
Tsedey, March 19th, 2009 at 7:31 pm:
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beautiful. good tribute to March- women’s month!
AfroQious, March 20th, 2009 at 4:36 am:
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I really enjoyed reading this… I 2nd Nani’s comment. Women are the backbone and sunshine of planet EARTH!
Sofanit A., March 20th, 2009 at 11:53 pm:
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I love the effect of your words on me and all who’d be reading this t-icho…wonderfully expressed, _as always_!
Semhal, March 21st, 2009 at 12:46 pm:
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Beautiful…
tpeace, March 27th, 2009 at 3:08 am:
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glad u enjoyed… a woman’s role needs to be appreciated more – particularly because a lot of it is silenced, subliminal…
Nani, March 30th, 2009 at 5:52 am:
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I’m just totally in love with this poem!! I’m reading it over and over and over …
“Did she ever say, or was she never heard?…
“Nothing has really happened until it has been recorded.”
So…She existed?”It captures so much!