© Rosemary K, 2008
This is a message to woman
That self worth is a treasure discovered
A requisite for personal dignity
An invaluable measure to cherish
A door to priceless freedom
Bounteous self esteem.
Woman,
It is you to measure up to yourself
Not to the expectations of the exploiters
Do not listen to the mocking judges
Do not be harsh on yourself
Because somebody told you a lie
That in order to be acceptable
You must fit their mold.
If you have a big build
Do not think you are cursed
Because the cat-walkies
Dismissed you from the parade
As non-standard grammage!
Appreciate yourself as you are
You are the revered Amazon
The BRAVE AFRICAN CHAMPIONESS
Like Mbuya Nehanda![1]
If you have a short stature
Love yourself for your smallness
You are the LIGHT-FOOTED SYLPH OF THE KALAHARI[2]
The quick-paced witty girl
A precious being uniquely built
A fitting nominee
To the Guinness Book of records.
If you have a dark skin color
Subscribe not to the messengers of doom
That you have a hue of gloom
To be swept clean with a broom
Of skin-damaging bleach.
Rejoice in your dusky color
You are the DARK AND LOVELY AFRICAN MAIDEN
Endowed with precious melanin
Unhampered by ultraviolet pestilence
Resistant to skin cancer
You are the AGELESS BEAUTY SPOT OF THE SAVANNAH
Unpolluted African beauty.
Forget about globalization
And attempts to modify human embryos
With design-dictated science
If you have curly hair
Call it a natural tuft of your pride
Plait it in long natural patterns
Forget the hair sizzler and deadening chemicals
Attempts to transform into a Marylyn Monroe
Hold your head high with pride
Let your crest bounce in its rich matt dance
You are the LOFTY AFRICAN QUEEN
Smiling down from the mountains
The snow-capped Mountains of the Moon[3]
Unfettered by scalp-scalding metals
Untainted by brain-damaging microwaves
You are the NATURAL BEAUTY QUEEN
A constant envy to the beholders
Who live in perpetual regret
Of the ills harvested from artificialdom.
Aspire, woman, aspire
To the heights forbidden by the tribe
Steer the ship across the Pacific
Pilot the jet across the Atlantic
Engineer the highway from Cape Town to Cairo
Woman of Africa
Shake off the shackles of bondage
Disown the age-old dogma
Respect yourself for your worth
Appreciate your personhood.
African woman,
While you learn the school lessons
The main tutorials start with yourself
And those are the invaluable disciplines-
THE LESSONS IN SELF-APPRECIATION!
[1] Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana (1840-1898) was a revolutionary woman who led the 1896 Chumurenga revolution, also known as the Shona-Ndebele rebellion, against British rule in Rhodesia, present-day Zimbabwe. Due to her popularity, the title “Mbuya”, which means “grandmother” in Shona language, was added to her name. The maternity wing of the capital city Harare’s Parirenyantwa Hospital is named after her. Mbuya Nehanda was executed by the British in 1898.
[2] Covering about 260,000 sq km (100,000 sq mi), the Kalahari desert stretches into Angola and Zambia to the north, across Botswana, into Zimbabwe to the east; south to the Orange River in South Africa, and west, to the Namibian highlands. The total surface area of this basin is estimated at 930,000 sq km (360,000 sq mi). Kalahari is derived from the Tswana expression, Kgalagadi, which means, “the great thirst.”
[3] The Rwenzori Mountains are also known as the Mountains of the Moon, due to their scenic beauty. These legendary mountains stretch 120 km along Uganda’s western border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mountains comprise of six peaks with permanent snow, and three peaks with glaciers. The highest of these peaks, also the third highest in Africa, is Mt. Stanley’s Margherita peak, which stands at 5,109 meters above sea level. The Rwenzori Mountains were formed by geological forces of the great East African rift valley.
This is a message to woman
That self worth is a treasure discovered
A requisite for personal dignity
An invaluable measure to cherish
A door to priceless freedom
Bounteous self esteem.
Woman,
It is you to measure up to yourself
Not to the expectations of the exploiters
Do not listen to the mocking judges
Do not be harsh on yourself
Because somebody told you a lie
That in order to be acceptable
You must fit their mold.
If you have a big build
Do not think you are cursed
Because the cat-walkies
Dismissed you from the parade
As non-standard grammage!
Appreciate yourself as you are
You are the revered Amazon
The BRAVE AFRICAN CHAMPIONESS
Like Mbuya Nehanda![1]
If you have a short stature
Love yourself for your smallness
You are the LIGHT-FOOTED SYLPH OF THE KALAHARI[2]
The quick-paced witty girl
A precious being uniquely built
A fitting nominee
To the Guinness Book of records.
If you have a dark skin color
Subscribe not to the messengers of doom
That you have a hue of gloom
To be swept clean with a broom
Of skin-damaging bleach.
Rejoice in your dusky color
You are the DARK AND LOVELY AFRICAN MAIDEN
Endowed with precious melanin
Unhampered by ultraviolet pestilence
Resistant to skin cancer
You are the AGELESS BEAUTY SPOT OF THE SAVANNAH
Unpolluted African beauty.
Forget about globalization
And attempts to modify human embryos
With design-dictated science
If you have curly hair
Call it a natural tuft of your pride
Plait it in long natural patterns
Forget the hair sizzler and deadening chemicals
Attempts to transform into a Marylyn Monroe
Hold your head high with pride
Let your crest bounce in its rich matt dance
You are the LOFTY AFRICAN QUEEN
Smiling down from the mountains
The snow-capped Mountains of the Moon[3]
Unfettered by scalp-scalding metals
Untainted by brain-damaging microwaves
You are the NATURAL BEAUTY QUEEN
A constant envy to the beholders
Who live in perpetual regret
Of the ills harvested from artificialdom.
Aspire, woman, aspire
To the heights forbidden by the tribe
Steer the ship across the Pacific
Pilot the jet across the Atlantic
Engineer the highway from Cape Town to Cairo
Woman of Africa
Shake off the shackles of bondage
Disown the age-old dogma
Respect yourself for your worth
Appreciate your personhood.
African woman,
While you learn the school lessons
The main tutorials start with yourself
And those are the invaluable disciplines-
THE LESSONS IN SELF-APPRECIATION!
[1] Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana (1840-1898) was a revolutionary woman who led the 1896 Chumurenga revolution, also known as the Shona-Ndebele rebellion, against British rule in Rhodesia, present-day Zimbabwe. Due to her popularity, the title “Mbuya”, which means “grandmother” in Shona language, was added to her name. The maternity wing of the capital city Harare’s Parirenyantwa Hospital is named after her. Mbuya Nehanda was executed by the British in 1898.
[2] Covering about 260,000 sq km (100,000 sq mi), the Kalahari desert stretches into Angola and Zambia to the north, across Botswana, into Zimbabwe to the east; south to the Orange River in South Africa, and west, to the Namibian highlands. The total surface area of this basin is estimated at 930,000 sq km (360,000 sq mi). Kalahari is derived from the Tswana expression, Kgalagadi, which means, “the great thirst.”
[3] The Rwenzori Mountains are also known as the Mountains of the Moon, due to their scenic beauty. These legendary mountains stretch 120 km along Uganda’s western border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mountains comprise of six peaks with permanent snow, and three peaks with glaciers. The highest of these peaks, also the third highest in Africa, is Mt. Stanley’s Margherita peak, which stands at 5,109 meters above sea level. The Rwenzori Mountains were formed by geological forces of the great East African rift valley.
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