Y’All Hear Me?

I know I will die on a cold winter morning. Winter withers me so it’s only fair that I believe my well worn weathered body Will wilt on such a day. Wrap me well, warmly. It’s the least you can do for a tropical wench Who died in a witheringly cold world. I will require…

I Am

I am Mixed Race, Half Caste, Half Breed and Colored. Any way you look at it His blood mixed with her blood Mixed with their blood To make our blood. And now all that blood runs through my children’s Tiny beautiful veins. We are the New bloods. African Bloods. We were colonized and reorganized yet…

The Hunt

Previously on the search for a better man You’ve done me no good I should thank my lucky stars I only spent 3 years on you I was once helpless without you And now I feel like I’ve lost half my life trying to play checkers when I should’ve been playing chess I should be…

Nusayba Alareer

You were a witness to a heinous atrocity of war, a crime against humanity Wildflowers in open spaces Wildflowers in closed spaces, in spaces that have been tampered with You lost a husband, your children lost a father, the world lost a poet I sit in my room and write this poem I, too, am…

Love

She is beauty She is love She is the queen and then some Her love goes out to the fields and the oceans Her love goes beyond the sky and beneath the earth She runs after her shadow to break the chains of sorrow She hugs the universe To her, its for better for worse…

Since you attended my funeral, I’ll also attend yours

Since you attended my funeral, I’ll also attend yours I’ll arrive just before the coffin Enters the church And join the line of weepers. Weepers, mind you, not mourners. Weeping is the physical evidence for facebook That people actually cared about you. But mourning… Mourning is the spiritual evidence That people actually cared about you….

Africana

When the highest bidder wanted to buy a monkey – his assistant gave him me; and this is what I had to say: I am African, but, I am not a Monkey, a Gorilla or a Chimpanzee we are custodians of the best wildlife we house the best creatures to ever exist in this life-…

Circle of women

Your head is a hiveyou are not sure you will survive.Women form a circle around youIn their eyes, your stories flow like The Nile.They collect themand hand you the cup.         Go aheadthey saybut you hesitate.        It’s okaythey sayand you receive. You raise the cup to your lipsand pass…

Stank with Sweat

The brave face I wear is never washed It stinks with sweat my mother’s and mine She taught me how to put it on to fit my wobbly bones to be the face that you would know My brave face has a smile it lasts for thirty seconds and plays back after a minute It…

Effie Nkrumah

Her name is Effie Nkrumah. Formerly known as Benumah, she is a multifaceted artist –  writer, poet, actress and director – and she also works in the Academia. She tells AfroWomenPoetry that she started consciously writing in 2011: “I needed a way to get my questions and thoughts out – it was quite accidental but…