Dreams Of A 13 Year Old Village Girl Poem by Vimbai Matanda

13 year old me!
I HAVE…
Questions that no one can answer,
Tears that no one can wipe,
Voices that no one can hear,
Efforts that no one can see,
I don`t know if I will make it.

School! My best place to be,
I don`t care I have no shoes,
my teacher`s daughter lends me hers to use the bathroom,
I don`t care I have no school uniform, my two piece flowery outfit is ok,
I don`t care I have no food for lunch, water is just fine,
All I want is to be educated and flee poverty but,
I don`t know if I will make it.

Home! Oh yes, but some nights without meals,
Some nights of watching my mom pretending not to be hungry,
So she could give us her portion,
She is just a widow trying to feed her children,
I wish I could take off some of the weight from her shoulders but,
I`m just a child and I don`t know if I will make it.

The village is all I know, I want to go away,
To where I see the planes going,
I dream of the day, the day I will eat the food I see in magazines,
I dream of the day, the day I would sleep in a good bed just like the one I saw next door,
I dream for a better future for my mother and for my little brother.
Does that future exist?

By: Vimbai Grace Matanda