Poems Woman Scream 2015 Tanzania

Poems Woman Scream 2015 Tanzania

Adam S. Kapilima

The Inner Voice

Can you hear it?

Can you hear it?

Can you hear that inner voice?

The voice of a woman crying in the middle of the desert,

The woman that lost her past, can’t see the future and stryggling with her present.

Most of people can’t hear that inner voice,

Because they perceived it’s lower than that of young boys.

Some heard it but decided to ignore, decided to destroy,

But when I heard that inner voice I made a choice, to scream it out coz it got a point.

I sensed it coming,

I knew it was something,

And when I heard it, it was much louder than Iraq bombings.

That inner voice’s calling for education,

Calling for participation, calling for better medication.

Who should provide all that?

Everyone who has heard that voice.

Not my voice, not that of the pen that wrote these words, but that’s coming from a woman’s heart.

Let me ask, have you heard that inner voice?

The voice of a woman dying in the middle of the forest,

Crying with lot of worries.

Her face in tears, her heart with fears, not employed for years.

She is jobless, she is homeless, left my husband, she is hopeless.

Can you hear the voice of a woman sleeping in the streets?

Roaming around with her 4 little kids.

That’s the voice which I want you to hear.

So open not just ears, but your heart.

Coz it;s very clear, that the mission to empower women has got to start.

Writer: Adam Kaps (Prince of Love)

INSIDE THE FOUR WALLS

And I could smell blood in the breeze.
No! Stop! Don't! Please! 
I'm sorry but I can not leave. 
She’s torn into pieces and blown away like autumn leaves.

Yes, she's torn into pieces, she's got no one to fix it.
Scars on her face, but there's no one to kiss it.
Not sent to school, housewife to cook, gat kids to look, plus sexual abuse, getting confused.

Oh! She don't know what to do, she keeps crying while looking at me and you.
(telling)
S

That life before this slavery, ohh she misses.
His fist missed her, is this the price to pay for being his Mrs? 
Ohhh her beautiful smile, her beautiful face.
Ruined!

She's so thin, oohh! What happened to that beautiful shape? 
Regular rape, whatever he wants, on the regular he takes.
And on the regular he loves to call her his regular mistake. 
I don't know how anyone could take this much.
I don't know how she can keep cause I have had enough. (asking)

What’s life to her? Messed up!
What’s day to her? Stressed up!
What’s night to her? legs up!
How long do we tolerate this? Someone's gat to step up.

She’s sick and tired of the yellings, like she’s the only one doing wrong.

She’s sick and tired of telling, the same story of the things going on.
Oh my dears, days and years, she lives in fear.

Let’s try to hear, hear it clear, hear the scream.
Wake her up from a sleep.
So she can fight for her dream.

And as I pray today I dream of that on the day to day.
I'm here to say I'm not here to play I'm here to make a way.

Lets join hands to say its enough.
Lets give her the wine of peace and the bread of love.
Lets give her the peace of mind, and love of a kind.

Lets give her the piece of life, that she never did find.

Lets give her the breath of life, so she can feel alive.

Writers: Adam Kaps (Prince of Love) & Pablo

Cino (Lyrical Lover)

Erick Justice

Growing together

Together we can bring out each other’s potential, help each others, accept to be challenged, to be helped and complement each other in order to grow.

We all know we can’t escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today and ought to know that true dignity is never gained by place, and never lost when honours are with drawn

Don’t we know that advice after injury is like medicine after death and the future is not in the hands of fate but it’s ours?

Or do i make a mistake when i say we judge our selves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done

We ought to know life is really very simple but men insist on making it complicated. As we grow to understand life less and less, we learn to love it more and more

Justice is the insurance we have on our lives and obedience is the premium we pay for it; justice delayed is justice denied

Fear not that thy life shall come to an end but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning

Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success

Together we can!!!!!

Caroline Damian

The World We Want

Am in hopeless place,

A place with no peace,

My heart is being tortured,

Am tired I am real tired,

No more tissues,

Can’t wipe my tears,

IS THIS THE WORLD WE WANT?

How can I hide this huge pain in feel inside?

Tell me how I can regain my pride,

You raped my mind and body,

Put me into shame and left me with nobody,

Silent I cried every day and night,

I didn’t have the strength that night for a fight,

Giving up attacked; it’s finally that i got hurt.

It wasn’t valentine; it’s neither our 10th anniversary day,

Last night he threw me on a wall; not for a kiss,

It seemed unreal a nightmare walking in on it,

Cold, angry and cruel eyes looked beyond me,

Hits me with his shoe down I fall; the panga slitted,

Didn’t raise my voice neither platter silently,

It’s my funeral today he is there dancing on streets.

Walking towards jando pain of my own destiny,

Elders responded it as burden of ferminity,

Matching larely towards jando awaiting Ngariba,

Come here girls she smiled unkindly,

Other girls were weeping soundly; blood plundering,

It’s my time yes my time Ngariba winked me next.

Shivering body shaking hands both sweating,

Legs scrunching would not make a step,

Touring my legs apart one women lied on my abdomen,

One woman to keep me from shaking this that way,

Ngariba with a razor pain with so much vivid,

I cried I wailed until I could less cry no more,

Am bleeding about to fill the Nile river blood.

A child to me is a dream never comes true

We eat and drink air at home,

Resting in my room I hear sweet voices from my parents,

Kindly I responded; I found them with a stranger,

An old man of baba’s age,

Thinking he has come to take me to school, OOOOH UNBELIEVABLE

He came to wed me,

Loudly I cried, ‘am only 14 years,

But nobody listened

I am a woman not a machine,

My husband u said u love me

Today those ages you’re swallowing alone,

Forcing me to bear many children,

Claiming land is plenty for the coming ones.

We women yelp what if peace was around<
what if we clean violence in our own home<
violence out no more in villages streets violence empty
children growing out of aids; out of torture <
bamparipa bam come every one and try>

Let’s us be fair,

It’s not about power; it’s about peace,

It’s not about anger; it’s about grace,

It’s not about money; it’s about humanity and dignity,

It’s not about words; it’s about actions.

It’s not about fear; it’s about confidence,

We all have to fight peaceful,

We are the world; we need to heal this world,

Bitter to better pain to heal and achieve it,

Bamparipa bam come on all women of the valleys,

Bamparipa bam come on all fathers of the nations,

Today marks a big revolution,

Bamparipa bam

END VIOLENCE PLAY.

Nancy Arbogast

Pearls Of Africa

Commencing with girl power,

This marathon took its pace.

With the desire to get them empowered,

For the gender beam to be balanced.

Great was the idea

And more so for this technological era.

For the women it sounded so dear

To get honored in different areas.

The locked potential in them

Finally being put forward.

Engineers, doctors , politicians and many others

Priviledged our country with their talented minds

Educate a woman, educate the nation

It’s a fact with enough proof

With this I offer congratulations

To the pioneers of such endeavors

Behind a successful man

A descent, responsible and respectable one,

There is a standing woman.

Sweet, spirited and firm .

I am speaking of the African woman

Woooow! We’ve got a great identity

Despite the torture and all inhumanity

Nothing can steal our hospitality.

Commitment is our working badge

Hardwork makes our identity card

Armed with sharp thoughts as an edge

Surely we are a special kind

We are courageous women

Phenomenal women

Ambitious women

Strong women

Wise women

Intelligent women

Industrious women

Independent women

Superwomen!!!!!

We are Pearls of Africa!!!

Pearls of Africa

Susie Berya

Trigger Happy

When their pockets seem more valuable

And their bellies more important

When my life isn’t worth a damn

To get these men to enforce the law

When they say it takes two to make a fight

And gracefully decline to interfere

The man is the head of the house

By now this woman should have learnt

When the hand of law seems to be short

And he far from its reach

When justice seems unattainable

Should I opt for violence to curb his own

When I can’t afford my safety

Yet he can buy his freedom

Come back home to be his mean self

Should I simply lay there and welcome death

Or should I opt for a baton or gun

Break a bone or two preferably his hand

Or simply go all trigger happy

Rid me of this monster I call a husband

My husband is the man I support

On my knees him I pray for

Out there for him always I rally

But behind closed doors me his punching bag

When my neighbours’ ears to my screams are deaf

And to family my wounds are invisible

When the law on my side it’s not

Should I take the law on my own hands?

Need I go trigger happy

And rid me of this monster I call husband

What Is Rape

Rape

What is rape

Do I have to be black and blue

Would that make it more true

Beat up, bruised up

Clots, streaks, scarred on my lap

On my skin finger prints from a slap

Must I have fallen for some elaborate trap

For me, he or they specifically set up

Must it be in some dark alley

Or to be refuted verbally

Brutally forced on some stone cold ground

Hands on my neck choking off all sound

Has it to be accompanied with physically pain

Or some soul wrenching disdain

Need I wince when I move cause I’m all sore

Need it be pictured as gore

Now I must not know what rape is

For when mine was not painful

Not violent and far less cruel

Withdrawn not, far from broken

On my face no shame or sign of depression

I was told off, surely you must be mistaken

So I ask

Rape

What is rape

Is there some condition

A book full of instructions

When not met one oughtta not mention

Far from it, dare not cry rape

Lost My Friends

Rape

I cried rape

Did I want to play victim – no

Did I want to scream – no

Did I know I’d lose friends – no

Rape

I cried rape

And I lost my friends

Not mere friends

But my girlfriends

In fact we were tight – best of friends

Now I know what rape does

Takes away your dignity and pride just because

One cries, in a rage one flies

And sure that’s just how it was

Then I called, in my friends I confided

Comfort, support was what I expected

But when justice I sought none stood by side

My friends, me they had abandoned

Was I truly a victim - Yes

Did I get to scream - Yes

Number of friends I lost – countless

Rape

I cried rape

And lost my friends.

Zuhura Seng’enge

Break Your Chains

I still remember the day of our wedding

When we stood before witnesses, promising

To love and cherish each other

To respect and protect one another

You looked so handsome, I thought I had a prize

Never met a man with such sincere eyes

Smooth with words, sweet talker of course

Never met a man with such a tongue for lies.

For three years we were a happy couple, a team

But so long it has been,

Since we laughed, danced our ngoma or fed the cows together

Now all you want is a woman who is light like a feather

I was your beauty, you were my beholder

And beauty does not die even when you are older

And time does not change that which is pure

But time made you bitter its slides you could not endure.

We used to share a plate of wali

Now you say I’m more filthy than my pot of ugali,

That my place is on the dusty kitchen floor

Beloved, how could you bring me such painful blows?

You were the symbol of true manhood in our society

Then over night you changed and I was no longer your priority

You brought strangers to our home and made them your over night brides

You kept praising their bedroom talents while ignoring your children’s cries.

They made your son the errand boy, and your daughter their new pet

It breaks my heart that I can never take back the tears they wept

It breaks my soul that you have become a heartless monster;

Corrupted, misguided , always delighted to see us suffer,

And bound to you like slaves,

Following your old and crooked ways.

But enough is enough! I will not take this any longer!

Break your chains, I will!

To feed my deep, deep hunger

Craving for freedom, I will

Be my children’s defender

Break your chains, I must!

To save them from your cruel dark heart

I will no longer let you kill their dreams or taint their lives

I will no longer try or hope to be a better wife

Because I was a beauty,

Before you took away my love for life

I am a beauty,

And I want to live my days with pride.

I do not need to be tough

But to be free and happy like a dove

I want to spread the word to every victimized woman and girl

Spread the word to emancipate them from the shackles of the world

Sing a song of hope for a better tomorrow

For we are more than victims of sorrow

We are beautiful, strong, capable

So let us find our courage

And break the chains of violence

Let us find our courage

And break the years of silence.

_____________________________________

BIOS

ADAM S. KAPILIMA

Songwriter

Poet

Critic/Activist

Undergraduate – Accounting

I’m a 22-year old poet, finalist at the University of Dar Es Salaam Business School, pursuing a bachelor degree in Commerce in Accounting. I started poetry in 1999, when I was part of Church Children Community at the University Chapel. I used to recite short poems and psalms in couple of church events (easter, christmas, new year, and other irregular events/ceremonies) year after year. I also used to do stage plays (drama). From 2003 I started to be recognised as a writer when I used to write poems, songs and short stories in Swahili and shared them to my friends at the church and primary school. From that time, I started performing both own works and other people’s works. From 2006, I started writing in English, but it needed me 3 more years (that’s 2009) to write my very first English poem, because I was more exposed to singers before poets (most notably was being part a music group called Sons of Dawgs in 2011 and 2012). However since then, I have been more interested in poetry. And thanks to my teachers (at Shaaban Robert Sec Schoool) I improved my writing skills and ability to create new ideas, other than love, despite being nicknamed ‘Prince of Love’ in 2010. In 2012, I joined Noisy Pens, and the following year, I joined La Poetista. These two poetry groups have offered me more than a hand in improving my works and making me a better stage performer, mostly La Poetista for it has organised monthly open mic sessions and other events regularly. They have really insipired and motivated me to work harder and write more sensitive poems. From 2013, I teamed up with Ben Pol and Heri Muziki. I have written a couple of songs for them, individually and jointly. Some of them are on air, some were modified to make them new songs, and some are still at studio work.

Other than poetry and music, I’m an accountant to be, expecting to graduate my bachelor degree this June. I’m also a youth activist, having established a non-governmental organization named ‘Young Alive’ to support Tanzania’s youth and help them meet their dreams. Still long way to go, but I keep on walking.

Erick Justice

Is a Young Volunteer who believes Youths are the one who can bring changes and being relevant in the society. Erick Justice believed in this idea of having youths impacting society so in 2012 at only 17 years old he established a group called Youth Volunteering Group, With this group Erick has managed to bring together youths from different parts of Tanzania to carry out several projects which have significantly impacted society (Impacted orphans, street children, sick patients, young entreprenuers and educational project). Erick joined AIESEC in 2013 and has carried out different projects and organized a National Conference. Currently apart from University Erick is The Director of Information Management and Communication at AIESEC IFM. Erick and his group is currently arranging a project that will help a level students realize their dream careers.

Caroline Damian Manyika

21years of age born on 27/July /1994. Currently a volunteer at YUNA. kindly get to view one of the poem I wrote collaborating with my friend Cattherine. I have been twice a winner of poems awards.poems are in my blood anytime anywhere I can compose Swahili(mashairi ya kimapokeo ) and also English poems. Its a talent that also amaize me as well. Am interesting in being part of your community .this is one of my quick sample. I love writing poems coz its my way to inspire the world I believe this is my opportunity. N here I am trying it out.

Nancy Arbogast

She is a third year student pursuing Bachelor of Architecture At Ardhi University. I begun Writing since in primary school and I used to write Swahili poems
(Ngonjera) by then. I love poetry, I enjoy listening to one reciting a poem.

Susie Berya

Is a 24 year old poet, spoken word performer and a radio presenter. She is currently enrolled at Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy studying for her Bachelor's Degree in Economics of Development.

Zuhura Seng’enge

Zuhura Seng’enge is a finalist student at the University of Dar es salaam currently taking up a bachelor’s degree in Arts with Education. She has been living in Dar es salaam most of her life. Since her childhood, Zuhura has been very fond of literature. She wrote her first poem at age 12 in primary school and she has never stopped reading or writing poetry ever since. As a poet Zuhura has participated in events such as; The Woman Scream Festival (2014), The Swahili Carnival (2014) and One Biliion Rising (2015), to empower and motivate the young generation to fight for change in various aspects of life, through her spoken word poetry. Zuhura is currently working with the group: La Poetista - Poetry Tanzania, where she is involved in various projects that inspire young people to use Art, basically poetry to make a difference in their lives and their communities. The most popular project being the Open Mic Night. Apart from poetry Zuhura also enjoys other forms of literature like; short stories, plays and novels from both African and non African writers. Her favorite book is The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah.