– A Poem by Noluthando Buthelezi
Ode to the woman who wakes up every morning
Puts a smile on her face
And musters the courage to seize the day
To the selfless woman who does it for her family
Who always finds a way
To the woman who’s a savior
Whose desire is to guide and be cherished
But instead suffers crucifixion at the hands of an angered man
Whose biggest sin is femininity
And greatest weakness is her greatest strength
That which lies in between her thighs
That gives a man his greatest high
And gives birth to a precious life
To the woman who laboured through hours of agonizing contractions
To deliver the fruit of her womb
So that the human race may bloom
To the woman who makes daily sacrifices
Who puts the happiness of her loved ones before her own
Whose arms provide a haven for cries and a home
Yet her sorrows echo, unnoticed, when she’s alone
To the woman turning rags to riches
Sealing her agony with stitches
While trying to look good for pictures
Because at the end of the day
Without her body, she’s seen as a mere fixture
To the woman who’s a fighter
The woman who lifts her family higher
To the woman whose image we see
When we think of a role model
The woman who is not defined by societal standards
But who has built herself her own pedestal
To the woman who’s a visionary
Who, despite living life constantly weary,
Manages to find her light
And keep her head high
To the woman who protects while her soul remains exposed
To the woman who dries tears
While pushing back her own and battling her fears
To the woman who gives warmth
While her back suffers the consequence of the world’s scorn
To the woman who gives life
Just for hers to be taken away by a single strike
To the woman whose love is infinite
Yet she gets stripped of it
To the women whose cries echo in every dark corner
To the women who have felt the taste of hell before they’ve experienced death
To the woman who, concerning their bodies, have little say
To the women whose lights have been forced off
To the women who have ignited their flames
To the women who feel, who cry, who fight, who try
Ode to the women.
