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By Akubudike Deborah  let me teach you how to be / a girl / without rubbing the rough edges of a stone / on another. bury all the clothes / in a thin line / not broad shoulders / not on technical drawing boards. / at school, we drew lines a lot till / they became a part of me / obscure figures / an arc struck over two girls who know the taste of brimstone / licking it off their burning vulvas / trying not to draw any attention / all the dirty clothes lie / deep within a closet / not letting the sunshine come through. i am called / a name & my body draws it in / this technical approach / a chain of smoke i hang on. lurking deep within me is a boy, / who tells me / he's decided to break down / the doors. i am fighting / a beast a mother raised / on my own. let me teach you how to be / a girl / without giving you a name / setting the grades of meat by the roadside / without / you telling me this isn't right / & i don't agree. in this world / you can't air the damp clothes / so they remain in the closet / & the stench grows into a man / telling you / how to be a girl.
7 Comments
Ahmad Imam Aishah
6/3/2023 05:34:42 pm
I believe an attribute of good poetry is the gold of deducing meanings from it. For readers to be able to read it whole and create a view entirely different from the writer's. I believe this piece did that to me. 👏
Wisdom Adediji
8/3/2023 03:41:43 pm
This poem screams more of girlhood, It's really a nice piece. “ let me teach you how to be / a girl / without rubbing the rough edges of a stone / on another. ” This line hits harder, but I believe using slash symbols in a poem indicates line breaks. Perhaps, if that's the case, this poem lacks proper structure. I feel you should've just added slash at the end of a sentence, except if too long.
Mercy Akpan
11/3/2023 06:41:07 pm
Amazing read, but the arrangements is faulty, somehow. The strokes occur too frequently.
Arinze Daniel Udoye
12/3/2023 08:08:33 am
Let me teach you how to be a girl: what I learnt from the poem is how society wants to control the lives of girls and tell them how to behave
Joshua
13/3/2023 10:59:34 pm
This would have been a great read if it was better structured
Isaiah Iko Alfa
14/3/2023 06:32:56 pm
Quite an interesting piece! Kudos to the poet, your imagery is good. 16/3/2023 12:32:41 pm
This is a really deep poem, you have to think deeply to deduce what she's saying. The central theme I see here is gender identity crisis and trying to conform to societal norms while hiding what you feel is your true self. Leave a Reply. |
