FLOWER GIRL

Photo Credit: Arkore Arts

The men 

With their proud, flamboyant cloaks

Encasing around bodies too heavy 

for our modest seats

A mould created from the Harem of servitude they rule

Of which I'll soon be an acquired piece, an acquired taste. 

They're here, at last

The ritual I've been groomed for 

Of which My existence is  dedicated to

The motions of which I've mastered .

It's upon me, with arms and legs and a face to match

And I berate myself for daring to be surprised , how dare me?

As the piece of my heart that still Cradled hope in its core ,Dies.

They're here at last 

To ask for my hand 

How can I tell them it's tied?

Designed not to Be outstretched to anyone 

My people choose

Oh wait, they know- 

I'm the puppet and they pull the strings

Who will listen and save me from my plight?

Oh silly me, I can't even speak my mind

My mouth is  possessed

And my Words are wrongly  wrung out of me

The dance begins- A staged one

I watch from the little holes in the torn curtain–

like a thief

As my fate is sealed

A cleared throat and then,  a call to action

"We have discovered a flower in your garden 

and have come to seek permission to

Pluck it" 

I stare at the trinkets and boxes and money and clothes 

That have been traded in place of me

My hopes and dreams and smile and

Myself, is this how much I'm worth? 

I never understood the flower 

But I do now, it's clear

I'm the flower–

Delicate, naive 

Blossoming, beautiful

Until I  wandered into ruthless hands

that Snagged me  from my roots 

To be shuttered from the world, 

Lonely, Isolated, miserable

The glory of the Sun in the realms of 

Precious memories

Cursed to spend the rest of my wilting days

A slave to my beholder

What sins are my paying for? 

I once tried to escape 

We always get caught

There's no respite from this fate

For I am sold  to Death.

Aishat Yahkub is a Black-African Muslim Yoruba woman and a medical student residing in Bauchi state, Nigeria, Africa. She's been in love with words for as early as she can remember and hopes to wield the power of words to dispel stereotypes and prejudices, represent the misunderstood and give voice to the voiceless.