FEMNET | Poem: Weeping lady from the Western Cape

Poem: Weeping lady from the Western Cape

By FEMNET
30 Nov 2018

To the weeping lady from the Western Cape,

Weeping Lady from the Western Cape,
You came to me through the words you spoke,
“I am tired of talking! I am tired of fighting! I am tired”
You came right through to my soul and so I went to seek you
Within the magic of 1,000 women @AWIDafrica 2018
I went to seek you to tell you that I too was “tired”
I wanted you to know that “tired” was the oil that fuelled my fatigue

Weeping Lady from the Western Cape, you held on so tightly to my hands
“Children die here every day, women are killed no one seems to care”
Then the tears came. Fast. Scalding. Bold.. like water from an open wound
You cried.
You cried through the desperation of wanting me to understand
“You know we Coloreds are so misunderstood…so disregarded…”
You cried.
My hands as handkerchiefs I wiped the flow of bitterness & pain
The more I wiped, the more the tears fell – so boldly, so beautifully pure

Weeping Lady from the Western Cape, my words were insufficient
Your pain is unmatched but the purity of your tears struck my long buried demons
“I wish that my tears would fall; so freely & pure like your own”
Beautiful Lady from the Western Cape, I know my words startled you but..
“Sometimes for some of us, the depths of pain denies us even the pleasure
of crying. Our eyes have since forgotten how to cry”

Weeping Lady from the Western Cape, I felt your power
In your tears
In the grips of your hands
In the trembling smile as you cried
In the deep breaths you took
In the beating of your heart as we embraced
I felt your power!

Weeping Lady from the Western Cape, I do not know your name
But I do know your pain
Today I write again because I am re-born by the power of your tears!
Today I think of you again my sister far away,
I think of you & I smile
& I hold you tight in my heart once more
One day, I too will be bold enough to cry

Weeping Lady from the Western Cape? You are NOT alone.

Mildred Ngesa 2018