With all the empty promises
It all started at home
The backbone of society they said....
Instead of it being strong and providing a safe place for me to land
It gave me a broken disfunctional one.
Children beaten everyday endlessly for even the smallest things.
They insisted that an African child understood from their behind.
Then polygamy came in
Mama so angry at the second woman forgot to love me too
Packing her bags in the name of saving her heart
She left mine to be abused daily by the other woman

School was supposed to be my escape
It only came with too many canes
Teachers who threatened not to give you marks unless you slept with them
Children who bullied you for being poor or not beautiful enough
So many times I wanted to run
But I knew that without an education you are no body

I thought adulthood was going to be my paradise
My government however is filled with corrupt and selfish leaders
Taxes every where every day it's all you practically work for
Jobs are hard to find unless you are connected to some one on the inside by blood, or sleeping with them.
My landlord keeps banging on my door angrily
I've lied to him so much he says
But my job pays 200k , I use 100k on transport, over 50k goes to taxes and I'm left with 50k to do every other thing.

I love the beautiful scenery and weather..... but apart from that.....
My continent is killing me.

Strides like a giraffe yet sleek as the gazelle
She is not the colour of her skin
Nor is she the crown she chooses for her head
She is both the heart wrenching thunder
And the illuminating halcyon lightning
Accompanying the storm
She is the petrichor and the rainbow
She is the heart of Africa

Mama, what does it mean to be free?
To think and act on your own?
If they free our skin will they free our minds?
Will we learn to love and appreciate one another?
Will my bronze skin be beautiful?
Will men admire my ***** hair
Will they rather look at her pale skin in awe?
Can we be truly free or will it be an illusion?
Will we stand equal or forever inferior to colonizers?
If freedom walks in
Will we mourn our brothers or sing songs of freedom
Mourning is easy, we mourn daily
If we are to sing freedom songs
How will we sing songs we were never taught
If freedom doesn't walk in
Will we be slaves forever?
Mama, what does it mean to be free?

Andaye!
Full of promising words and empty of actions
Preaching water and living alcohol
Your lies are so fertile
Your truth so young
Your tongues is a convincing machine
You help us sing the sweet simple song
They avoid the dancing part
You teach us how to cook dinner
Then take us out so that cannot eat
Andaye you're  a liar.

I have seen God.
Her head raised high, poised and beautiful
Smooth skin that seems to control nature in her veins.
In her was history, the first, the genesis.
Her love is impartial, incomparable.

I have seen God
In different shades of earth and nature
Made of Protons, neutrons, melanin
She is root; the source of life
Life itself, the very beginning.

I have seen God
She would trade her life for her children
She’s an armour and life jacket
She is the source of life and peace.
She is more than an angel, she is a god.

I have seen God
She is black.

The first time I fell in love with a woman:

it was on a Saturday afternoon
a sunny day with blissful winds
I saw her walking down the street
talking to a friend,  tending to a child
and carrying a water bucket on her head

she looked so fragile at that moment
but yet so strong ,
she moved like a lion,  she had the weight of the whole world on her shoulders but still maintained her balance,  
a goddess in every kind and form

she left me In awe not just by her beauty
but her strength, her pose and confidence
the way she moved put models to shame
her voice as serene as the oceans breeze
she had something in her that just made my deadly  frown turn into a perfect smile

she made me happy,  I fell deeply

As she moved closer, I could see the sweat dripping from her gracefully curved face
I noticed how each drop fell off her with  a harmonious  movement, she was a queen with a crown not made of the jewels of this world but those which are rare and not known to superficials

She looked deeply hurt and tormented by either her past,present or the future that is still so scared
She hides her scars with everything she got
her smile on her face to keep away the reflection of  pain in her eyes
she was so badass but so soft inside

She walked past me with her head held high
she cared about no judgment but for one's peace of mind
She looked at me and we shared a smile
she spoke the silent language of admiration and pure love
and at that fateful moment I deeply fell in love with a woman

©mereidow

Um spoiled for choice
As i look at all these beautiful african girls
I like  i like oMampofu
So. Filled with life
They sparkle with untired enthusiasm
Waiting to explore. To kno more, knowledge seekers
Leaning on life's edges....they excite me
But then i really do fear the power
oMaSibanda , abangehlulwa thambo strong women
They stand tall to life's demons
Ever open claws defending her family
I bite my lips as i ponder over
OmaKhumalo.,, the royal blood of amandebele
Enadla umuntu limyenga ngendaba
Uphelele lomfazi as she walks kudikiza umhlaba
Their skin so smooth dreams glide through it
And they know it
so they leave trails of pride when they pass by

I am spoiled of choice
Really the african girls are beautiful
I sometimes lose myself in the fine tuned voices
Of oMaNcube
OMpangazitha   bluberring sweet nothings
With a thousand stars held in her eyes
She suprises me sometimes
how she paints dark hours
Into abstract art with no care at all
Bending the rules to capture a smile

OmaMoyo power in speech
Their tongue builds a nation
For Her lips even with such authority stills spill lustful imaginations
Um spoilt for choice
Africa is beautiful such beautiful daisies
The humble sweet Mandlovu, ogatsheni, ontaba engabhodwa ngale kwayo
Big heart and such understanding
Silently holding up cries within
Soundproofing the screams of pain
With a smile that melts my soul
And oooh
OMaNyathi with natural yellow skin
Light beings colouring our dark covers
Uyapenda isizwe,
Obuhle obungakhuzeki
Confidently Conqouring man's heart
Um spoiled for choice
These sons of africa have made pillars of daughters
Each tribe holds omama, oauntie, ogogo, odadewethu,
Black African ladies
Forged in the wilds of africa
Taught to respect and love
I crown all african ladies
With fresh picked daises of my appreciation
For you..... You ladies of Africa you are
Queens
Cause of every imperfection
With every stumble,
Every struggle
You dont let trouble cling on
You walk on
high in your red stiletos
Tight brown pumps,
Black polished sandals
And dust off yesterday's thoughts
Cause u kno today is another day
Another chance to conquor
But if you dnt today u still wake up ivin. More equiped
Cause u an African woman

I am spoiled for choice my heart
Can not decide
My heart can not decide..