29 Years Of Me Poem by Opeyemi Mariam Sonaike

Looking back on the 29 years I've lived,
I wonder have I done enough?
Sometimes it feels like I'm falling behind,
But still, I hold myself together in the only ways I know how.

Childhood was painful
A weight too heavy for little shoulders.
My teenage years?
A storm I barely survived.
Now, adulthood…
It's strange. Unfamiliar.
Yet here I am still moving forward.

I've grown to love who I am today,
And who I'm slowly becoming.

I live a life that often makes me question,
Why was I born?
Why did they bring me into a world like this?
Why do I live with so many unanswered aches,
While the world seems so cold, so unfair?

But then, in my quiet moments, I remember,
I was born for something more.
To be a woman who is deeply loved.
To be a mother whose heart overflows.
To be a sister, a friend, a safe place.
To be a wife, one day, filled with grace.
To be strong. To stand tall.
To build a family bound by love.
To meet the souls who color my world.
I was born to be someone remarkable.

Some days, sorrow lingers like a shadow.
Other days, I shine so bright,
It feels like I'm dancing on the moon.
Joy, sadness, laughter, tears
Each one has taken a turn holding my heart.
Which do I choose?
Maybe all of them, maybe none.
Maybe that's just what it means to be human.

I wish for life to be kinder,
For joy to find me more often.
I want to make myself proud,
And to leave warmth wherever I go.

Today is my birthday.
A celebration of life.
Yet, once again, sadness quietly visits.
I smile, but I feel it there lingering.
I'm not surprised.
It comes every year,
Like an old friend I never invited,
But somehow learned to accept.

Still!
Happy birthday to me.
A warrior in silence.
A soul still rising.