The Colour of Anger

Red fire screams in his mind
Falling, falling like hail
Gripping his heart
Numbing its ever present pain
Red-hot is the colour of his breath
It’s the sound of his mumbled words
Unheard in the thunderous raging in his head
Her words are as a mime’s
The fear in her eyes unseen
The devil's stolen his reason
Red is the colour in his eyes
His hands are as fast as lightning
Bursting the ripe pomegranate
Spewing red pulp on the cream wall
Trickling down like tears from her blinded eyes
Spurts of pink dot his crisp white office shirt

PoP 24 April 07

Be Still And Know…

Fighting the pain of rejection
Shaking off a childhood of dejection
Raising my voice to be heard
Silence screams above the noise
Eyes afraid to close; too much fear
Loneliness and pain seem ever so near
Choices few and far between
Back bent with responsibility
In stolen silent moments
I hear Him speak
Be still, He says
And know
That
I Am God


PoP © April 24 07

Today, I Cried

Today I looked rape in the eye
Saw it's twisted mind at work
Smelled it's putrid scent in the purity of a little girl
Saw what it does to the heart of an innocent child

Today I saw the devil in the HIV prophylactic
I heard him in the scream that came from the painful needle
No, I assure you I was not watching TV
Unfortunately it was all too real
It was all too real

Today I held the hand of an angel
Patted her head in a vain effort to comfort her
Hugged her lifeless body close to me
All through this my eyes refused to meet hers
Somehow I felt I had lost my right to stand tall
I’d relinquished my right as a friend and a sister
Why wasn’t I there to protect her
Why didn’t I keep this five-year-old safe
My shame was mirrored in her eyes
As they darted from one end of the room to the other

Today I saw the face of rape
Smelled it in the scent of a public hospital
Heard it in the resounding scream as the speculum
Probed and swabbed as only cold detached steel can
Invading her delicate insides
Raping her again and again
Today, I buried my head in shame
And cried

PoP © 2nd April 07

A Child No More

Maria was raped 48 hours ago today
We found this out the hard way
You see, Maria is five years,
10 months and 18 days old
She’s less than a metre tall
Barely reaches my hip
Her corn-rowed head is bowed
As her gaze fixes on my knee

For 48 hours Maria didn’t speak
She didn’t eat
Maria didn’t play
Didn’t want to leave her bed

Today Maria is on her feet
We watch as she struggles to walk straight
She fights to carry her normal gait
Fights to hide the wince of pain
Fights to be a child again

Turns out Maria was raped by her father
On Monday before the sun quite went down
Rudely pulled atop him with all his might
Threatened to a whimpering silence
Her innocence plundered, tattered and forever scarred
As tear-filled eyes stared back without fight

Maria was raped by an economic system
that keeps her in a one-room house
She was raped by a President
Who does nothing to improve her life
Maria was raped by an MP
Who year after year spews out useless words
Deafens us with empty promises
She was raped by those among us
Who dare not speak out
Who bury their anger in silence

Her father’s guilty as sin
Without doubt his act of unabated greed
Was full of shame
He must carry his own cross
Pay for this disgusting thing
But the system must pay too
And all who choose to turn a blind eye
For he should not bear the punishment alone

PoP © 2nd April 07