Dedani Dlodlo presents her poem - I am Woman.I amWomanAnd in the tradition of some religious menI am more villain than victimThough the weaker sexI am still the greater sinnerI am no longerThe last of creation’s divine epiphanies womanOr the one man once sang overSinging bone of my very boneFlesh of my own flesh womanI am onlyFashioned from the rib of a man womanThe woman that wasGiven and then blamedShe is meAlways and inexplicably ashamedI am sheDeceived into conceiving sin womanI have desires and needsOf which I’ve been told I needn’t speakBecause after all God never spoke to meWomanNot directlyAnd not of anythingOther than curses and seedsSo though I am wild womanConstantly coming undoneAnd though on most daysI runneth overWith tears and holy hymnsThat I can only humI try hard not to beThat womanStuck on paperToo openAnd so easily readLike a well known poemAbout a brittle womanBreaking herself apartTo scatter herself and her unloved heartAll over the halfway willingness of a man womanI try hard not to beThat wild horse womanBoth terrifying and strangeRunning alone in flamesAlong tight ropes and fine linesBetween two polesNot enough and too muchTrying to find peace of mindSomewhere in the middleWhere the thunder roarsWhile the sun still kissesAfter the world endsBefore the dawn breaks againBut thereDeep in the dialecticalWhere few goWhere being good and womanFeels more like a game of Marco PoloThe knowledge of who I can beAlways just beyond my reachSomething I can only navigateBy what their misogyny tells meBut they are the blind onesAfraid to see that there might beSomething divine in femininityFor too long I have feasted on their liesThat I am only beautifulIf their desire says soPure if untouchedBut not too muchBecause then I might be frigidThat I am only worthy if chosenAdored if submittedI am tiredOf trying to be all of theseYet never seenTired of failing at making loving me easyI have tried to make myself smallAnd smaller stillWhatever they said it would takeTo fit within a man's embraceI have failedAgainI have weptI have wonderedWhat do I doWith all of my too muchWho will hold me togetherAs I threaten to come looseBut now that there was nothing left to doI have surrenderedI have given into the vastnessThat once inhabiting God's mindMust entailI have found solace in what I forgot I knewThat I am not my ownAnd I am never really aloneI amWomanEzer KenegdoA warrior corresponding to himWho after taking a little timeTo learn his need of meGave his boneThen when at last he first saw meKnewThat I was indeedThe one he'd longed forThe one for whom he could build a homeI am womanI was made for a loveThat honours and redeemsThere is a part of the TrinityThat looks like meAnother that lingers over me with sacred songsAnd a King that will come from meThese three, the ElohimThey call me PoetryA work of art redeemedSet apartAs a temple for the Most Holy HeartHe has made me beautifulA crown of glory and splendorA royal diadem in His handAs strong and majestic as treesChosen, placed and plantedTo blossom and bloomTo hold and showThe glory of first fruitsWhich even while I did nothing but standStill grewBecause I am the I AM'sI am lovedWomanI know because my beloved tells me soHe speaks to me and says:“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,And come away,For behold, the winter is past;The rain is over and gone.The flowers appear on the earth,The time of singing has come,And the voice of the turtledoveIs heard in our land.So womanAnd those that love herKnow that before you moveOr seek to prove your valueYou are already and forever lovedBut I implore you, beloved womanYou must let yourself be lovedWoman

Dedani is a psychologist and poet who lives in London, England. Originally from Zimbabwe and having spent time in the US, Dedani works with young people at risk of serious youth violence and specialises in trauma. She helped co-found The Ampersand collective, a faith based art ministry bringing the community together through art.