Three Poems | Bisola Bada
endangered
I want to write a poem
that speaks of
deers, antelopes,
pouched rats
& many other
endangered games in
the hands of hunters
in the black continent
but how do I
write this on paper
when this poet
& her gender are
endangered species in
the fist of patriarchs
& misogynists
but
you were not made
just for him
not for the fire that
wilds inside him
not for every rising
below his torso
not to please his
whet appetite
not to be his kitchen
attendant & waitress
not for returning your
father’s last name
just to take up his
not to help him continue
his paternal lineage
not to launder the smell
of sin from his skin
not to be the refuse bin
that collects his aggressions
girl, you are made just for you & you only
not a doll
you said I was wrong
to ask questions
because to submit means
to speak only in silence—
the dialect of acceptance
but the last time I checked,
a woman was not a doll
you said I do not hold
the keys to my body
because my body is yours
& not mine—
a god needs no consent to
walk through earth,
you kept forcing music out
of a fatigued singer
but can a sun pour its light
into a closed room?
Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash
Bio:
Bisola Bada is a Business Psychologist and writer from Nigeria. She writes about the intersection of life, beauty, love and everything in between; she writes especially for the girl child. When she is not reading or writing, she is out enjoying the beauty of youth with her girlfriends. She currently writes from Newcastle, United Kingdom.
