Circle of women - Hilda Twongyeirwe

Your head is a hive,
you are not sure you will survive.
Women form a circle around you
In their eyes, your stories flow like The Nile.
They collect them
and hand you the cup.

        Go ahead
they say
but you hesitate.
        It’s okay
they say
and you receive.

You raise the cup to your lips,
you pass the cup to the next woman
you all sip in turns.

It’s an oath not to upset social strings in veneration.

You pass the string tighter to next generation
of women you know,
of women you do not know
until you realise it’s a scheme
and the string
eats deep into skin.

You drop it,
And break the circle.

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Hilda Twongyeirwe (20th century) Uganda
Source: AfroWomenPoetry