Giving Shame A Voice Poem by Tumisang Ramarea

My doctor said we should give shame a voice,
As though I myself can live to make a choice
About when and how that monster calls,
Quietly and abusively through the walls
Of my heart. I lay back in the chair, stare
Across the room at her, I shaved my hair
Oh doctor! You dare to tell me that I bear
False witness when I say shame shouts.
My weakness is I cannot help but listen
To the taunts of the ghost that haunts
Me. My tears cannot help but glisten
That is why my smile is so bright. Shame
Knows me by name, has mastered the game,
Of hide and seek, except in my hide and skin
Shame is the reason I have a wall around
Because it tells me if they peeked at me
Those who surround me would not abound
So I strangle it when it leaps at me,
At times its scream would leak, on a bleak
Morning when my body is mourning
The death of its electrolytes. Or after
Some electro nights…give me some
Electoral Rights and maybe shame shall rise.