Becoming
written by: Pacella Chukwuma-Eke
@dancing_poet
I
this poem begins with a girl
living inside a canvas
a canvas carved
by the sacred keepers of culture
of culture is what they say
when they wear your silence
you silence your voice because
they uphold a quiet woman
a quiet woman knows no difference
between freedom and a cage
a cage is a canvas you have sworn
to call your home
your home comes with what a linguist
would be mistaken for chains and whips
chains and whips tasted the bitterness
of your skin more than your lover’s tongue
your lover’s tongue that birthed a name
for all his puppets’ scars
his puppets’ scars you now carry
as a broken body
a broken body that you have become
is living inside a canvas
II
living inside a canvas
when they wear your silence
you are a quiet woman
between freedom and a cage
you have a broken body
living inside a canvas
III
this poem begins with a girl, between freedom and a cage, as a broken body.
