Mozambican Princess
I am a princess
Wrapped in lush hides.
You are the only one
Who claims I am wearing rags.
I soar into the endless sky
On my straw mat.
No, I am not clinging
To the top branches of
A feeble sun beaten tree.
Those aren't corpses
You see floating past that rooftop.
They are logs slowly drifting
In a gentle ox-bow lake.
Those sharp pangs I feel
Are the knots of fear
A woman feels when her warrior
Goes out on a hunt.
You can't feel the head of a baby.
I would never give birth out here.
What is that huge bird
Hovering above me?
It's screech is deafening.
Who are you?
You slipped down the big bird's
Spindly feather with a knife
In your hand.
Do you intend to kill me for
My kingdom?
I know to push but the pain
Is killing me.
What? A prince is born?
Praise the ancestors!
What are you cutting?
Why are you raising me
Into the belly of the bird?
All I possess is here.
Without my husband and cattle,
I am nothing.
Yes, save me, but
Cut out my heart
And toss it into
That malicious ocean
Of mud.
Page(s) 6-7
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