I AM MORE THAN WHO YOU THINK

I am a breed of life.
Just like you,I have my part to strive.
So,when you flip through the pages of His-tory,
Do not forget to read through the struggles in Her-story.

I am not a cheerleader.
My worth is more than the pieces you claim to gather.
I bet you,let me out of this minor committee
And watch as I glow in the tempo of authority.

I am not weak.
Pains and endurance and long suffering in a clique
Have imparted my deepest breath
To give to the society all my strength.

You who call me the inferior
Have you asked from the one only Superior
How lonely life would be without sheer
Relationship with the one who is your peer?

Never think I am incidental.
No! My purpose is instrumental.
From my eyes down to my soul,
You can build a factory of intellectual goal.

Perhaps,you should know
Of all the skills you've aquired,I am also good to go.
So,when next you see me as an object,
Remember that,we have the discretion to be made all subjects.

Lest you forget also,I am a judge.
When your senses declared against you a charge,
Together we sat to reason
And proffered solutions that'll last for all seasons.

I am also a teacher.
Within my loins are embedded wisdom to groom the toddler.
And until my rod prevails,
The next generation will forever live to fail.

Yes,I am a mother.
It is I who makes you a father.
But before you sentence the radiance from the beauty of my deeds,
Tell the children of today that I can actually lead.

So I say to you today
Do not listen in disarray.
I am more than who you think.
My worth and my pride have made me a woman,never to shrink.

Spoken Word presented at the World Outstanding Women Conference,2018.
University of Calabar,Calabar.
Theme: The Woman: Her Pride,Her Worth.