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Esther Bewaji: Poetry Collection




The Colour White


Your all-time favourite is the colour white

A canvas as blank as your mind

So open to reflect the markings etched deep

So willing to absorb pink and yellow

The colours that whisper a promise

That transform you into the heartbreaker you were told you would be

Since you were three

Talking to you is like talking to an echo

You walk like your feet are dipped in warm water

And you never want to step out

You have long hair that always flies into your food

Or gets plastered on your cheeks

Your eyes are big and beady and brown

You have mastered the art of batting your long lashes

And pouting your lips

You chew slowly, covering your mouth when you eat

Your stomach is always sucked in after lunch

You don't take pictures when your acne sprouts

Looking at you is like looking at a mirror

You are adept at silence

It is your favourite way to speak

You bury your head in books to hide your thoughts

And close your legs to shield your shame

You are inherently guilty of the sins of men

You are always in the corners

Always on the edges of pages

On the hems of fabric

Always looking away



The Weed


The weeds know what it's like to be a woman To sprout, fresh and ripe Just to be cut down, hacked, racked, plucked Only seen as an obstruction to someone else's glory Never acknowledged for oneself The weed knows to soak in the sun And cherish the whooshing wind Because the sand in her hourglass is running out She knows to exhale while she can She continues to sprout every other season Even with the looming threat of being mowed and destroyed Because she knows life is a balance between growing and wilting Sprouting and sinking And each day, she gets to germinate In a new skin, a root that has never been uprooted A stalk that has never been plucked out She will continue to germinate across the soil Because she knows the value of a dream Because she knows living the life of her choice will be hard But it will be a journey worth embarking on A song worth singing A battle worth fighting A seed, a weed worth growing



About the Author:


Esther is a fifteen year old high school student currently schooling in Nigeria. She is an aspiring author and filmmaker. She is passionate about world and societal issues and mainly reflects them in her work. Her work has been in the F(r)iction literary journal's Dually Noted group project. She loves reading, publishing on her Medium page, and swimming. Esther is a creative member of the Just for Her Project, which serves as a voice for sexual assault victims and out-of-school children, mostly girls, in Nigeria. They can be found at @justforher_initiative on Instagram.

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