By Veronica Novy
Here
Alone
I
Sit
In
My
Room
Pondering the thoughts of yesterday
And wondering how I have existed
On the verge of life for so long
Here I sit waiting
Asking for someone to hear my voice
Here I sit and there is nothing left
To say to anyone anymore
Here
Alone
I
Sit
Thinking about my own existence
And about survival, my survival
As I cling to a world during peacetime
But somehow I feel like a foot soldier
Knowing that my face hides
Love
Fear
Joy
Emotion
Tenderness
And peace
But behind my face there is something lurking in the shadows
And its me
My righteous self
My unpretentious self
My black self
My woman self
Now as I sit here alone
I begin to ponder once again
I say to myself, Now Aig’t I a Woman?
I give myself a high five in the mirror
And realize that I couldn’t have gotten from here to there
Without a struggle
A struggle of the mind
Struggle of all the woman in my family
Remembering, survival is not for everyone
Especially during peacetime!
Ponder that.
9/25/96
12:36am
