I carry my origins in on my face for I am a collection of my ancestor’s choices,
I hope that I have made them proud to name me daughter.

I am the granddaughter of warriors, peacemakers, revolutionaries and poets.

I have forged my character in the depths of despair, in the mist of oppression, in the acceptance and love reflected in a mother’s eyes.
I hope to learn, to grow and be more than yesterday.

I am the hope of my mother, the proof of fertility and the aspiration of a future.
I am sister, cousin, beloved, and friend.

I am the creator of my own experiences and the writer of my story,
I make no apologies and require no praise.

I am a collection of moments and the portrait of complexity.
I am my experiences, worries, fears and prejudices.
I am a warrior.
I am a poet.
I am the past, the now, the potential.
I am as I have always been:
DIMAKATSO.

I understand is a phrase that I am starting to find hard to say.

I understand I say:
I understand I say when you make me question my sense of self-worth,
I understand I say as you slowly chit away years of independence,
I understand I say when you attack my identity and yet want to lay the blame on me.

I understand I say:
I understand I say when you introduce doubt to my convictions,
I understand I say when you blame your mistakes on me,
For how could you have done that if not for me?

Yet I see no way out.
Confined by expectation and fear.
I have built a prison much stronger than iron bars.
I understand.
I understand is a phrase that I am starting to find hard to say.