THE FOLLOWING POEM WAS SELECTED IN WINGWORD POETRY PRIZE 2023 LONGLIST.
My poetry is not a privilege
of convent educated brown women
who gorged on nursery rhymes for breakfast,
my poetry is not a Humpty Dumpty falling from the London Bridge,
not a woke bigotry on social media every time humanity fails humanity,
my poetry is not a library lost to piracy,
not a satin coated diary—
my grandfather passed onto me on my twelfth birthday,
my poetry is not only remembrance poppy nor only cold war nor only carnation wreath at the national war memorial,
my poetry is a responsibility,
a legacy, a war cry, a thatched roof of bones,
my poetry is a voice I was born with
which women before me had died for,
I was born within the womb of the first woman in history,
the rhyme scheme in the funeral pyre of each Suffragette,
I am Ruby Bridge desecrating white privilege,
you see every poet is a change
and every poetess a revolution,
Last year India organised its first government funded transgender poetry meet,
at times history needs to be given a mic not a coffin,
you see my poetry is Savitribai Phule felicitated
with stones, mud, and rotten eggs
as she martyred herself to educate me two hundred years ago,
my poetry is Maya Angelou losing voice
because her rapist got killed
because women are culturally conditioned to believe
carrying the punishment of our violation
is our responsibility,
My poetry is my mother not understanding
half of it
but showing it to every guest who came to our house,
my poetry is every girl child
whose throat was found in a dump yard because of her anatomy
two days after she was born,
my poetry is the infanticide of misogyny,
Lee Makobe's mother telling her she "could grow up to be anything"
my poetry is 'twinkle twinkle little star'
my grandmother how I wonder where she is
tonight, refilling my pen
reminding me-
some times you may not
live long enough to be celebrated
some times—
you will live long enough to be remembered,
sometimes you learn history
sometimes history will
unlearn itself.