Stolen Innocence Poem by Phanice Wamukota

A girl's heart
Was tender,
And yearned
To be rendered
To a new experience,
Out of the ordinary.

Not a reminder,
To fill the water tanks,
Neither a note,
Of groceries to be sourced.

Not a cane,
For failed exams,
Not endless cries,
Of angry hungry siblings.

She was mannered
And quiet,
Mistaken,
For queer.

Was young,
But tired,
Vexed
And bored.

Then,
She met a man,
Fatherly,
Or so she thought.

Manned
Manly
Moneyed
But married.

Generous
With gifts,
Words of love,
Or lust?

Their price,
Her innocence,
Taken
By force,

Left wounded,
Tormented,
And shy,
Of life.