The pathetic excuse for a man my lovesick mother married
He has engraved a lewd semblance of himself on my essence
An obscene figure etched upon my very soul in crude detail
The vile leering smile exposing permanently stained teeth
The spitefully explicit craving lighting up his untamed gaze.
His habitual scheme to hoodwink my naive mother is employed
A repulsive gift is forcefully placed into my trembling hands
A revolting cheap piece of second-hand apparel for me to wear
The obscene offering swathed in old newspapers leaking threats
She swallows the lie, hook, line and sinker, and worships him.
He has rigidly set and adheres to an abhorrent roster of terror
The sick routine is jump-started with a signature dress code
The snug, loathsome, ill-fitting trousers, straining at the seams
The repulsive sleeveless hand-me-down shirt thick with grime
A standard precursor to the nocturnal evil he has planned.
The vile rigor established by his customary ritual is crippling
He has never failed to make good his obnoxious promise, ever
The dreaded soft scratching, hardly perceptible, announces him
He enters and after him follows the foul stench of a pit latrine
I bemoan my youth as my petrified heart leaps into my mouth.
—
Read – Dreaming Reality – A Poem by Nanyanzi Leticia Hope, Uganda
Matrida Phiri, a poet and short story writer, lives in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia in Southern Africa. She was born in Chipata a small town in the eastern part of Zambia, and was raised and educated in Zambia. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies and a Diploma in Creative Writing. She works in an international NGO for children in Lusaka as Church Relations Coordinator, and has three adult daughters and a grandson. One of her poems, “IMPOSED NUPTIALS” was recently published in the November 2023 Edition of the Writers Space Africa magazine (WSA Magazine November 2023 Edition). Matrida has also self-published a memoir, “FROTH: My Battle with Low Self-Esteem” which is available on Amazon in paperback form and as a Kindle e-book. In her spare time, she likes to read and watch soccer with her family.
