Ossai Favour
@ossaifavour
1 year ago
As an African girl,
I have learnt a lot.
To wear this skin tone with pride,
To be ready for battle at every angle,
To love the texture of my hair.
And to keep the African spirit alive.
I am never to forget about the sacrifice of my forefathers,
The pain, disdain, struggles and undying hope.
This is the bane of being an African girl to me.
Civilisation, the knife to Africans.
'He' threatens everything, the customs, traditions and everything we stand for.
Still I must adapt,
Still I must change,
Still I should adjust…
That is the way of this African girl, me.
To a foreign land,
I seem to be a celebrity or an object of curiosity.
Everyone seems curious,
As to the tone of my skin,
As to my accent,
As to my qualifications,
As to the texture of my hair,
To know why ...I'm so different.
This playground formed by those around me,
This jungle of transformation.
So I dance to their tunes.
My accent is a little funny,
I must reach the cut off mark!
I can straighten my hair a little,
It's a new side of being an African girl,
But I can, right?
Still I can adjust, right?
Pressure like a noose to my neck, leaving me gasping for air.
Anxiety in every breath, quickening fear down my spine
Every frame seems different,
No! I must adjust!
I must adapt in this new territory,
A stranger in a foreign land,
I wear the cloak of Africa,
Although these wings must be civilized.
I look at the mirror and I see a figure that is not me.
Still i must adjust, right?
