For Madia Mamoraka Williams Poem by Angela Bontle Ditumiso

I was a rainforest once
Overcrowded with tall trees of pain
They reached high up to the skies of my eyes
I could barely see the world for what it is
So if I say I've looked at the world through orbs of pain
I mean just that
I was a rainforest once,
My floors full of moss and dead leaves
Each leaf representing one dead dream
Each leaf enriching soils with nutrients
My soil was so rich
So rich and forever feeding my pain
I even assumed that I was cursed

I was a rainforest once
And these days when it comes to tears and pain
I'm a desert
And I'm not craving for an oasis
I don't want water, no I don't tears
Not even tears of joy
Because every time I was happy
I would cry and instantly rip the stitches
Then joy will die and come back as pain as easy as that

No, these days I'm a desert
I don't know rain nor pain
I only know how to be sand dune carefree
I know how to be me and unashamed
These days, I know how to look at a mirror and not see brokenness or lacking or emptiness
No, I look at a mirror and see love
And she, love is beautiful