Woman In Red
If I were a Kenyan warrior I would paint my jaw and cheeks Red with wet earth And dangle silver from my naked head
I would wrap myself in the blood of my mothers And dress my big shoulders In rows and rows of beads Resting against the hills and valleys of my breasts
I’d hold my spear close to my chest So that it was warm with the vibration Of my beating, thumping heart
I would set one bare foot On the ground, then the other in front of that Walking to the front lines Where I would lay my life on the ground With the other women in red
© Ama Akoto (2018)