Love Poem: THE GROANING RADICAL FEMINIST
Oluwasola Elisha Avatar
Written by: Oluwasola Elisha

THE GROANING RADICAL FEMINIST

Bitter and heartless
Carefree and perceived to be mannerless 
That is my identity 
The identity I am given in our community

To them, I hate men
For them I am not fit to be in the midst of women
YES! I am the radical feminist 
The one everyone has labelled extremist 
But no, I did not start like this
I also once imagined a life of ease 
But what I got was far away from ease
I lost my mind of peace
I stopped getting peace of mind

I was raised to Love
I was brought up to give my all
And yes, I did fall in Love 
And I gave my all

He was my first 
With him I wanted to have it ALL
I did have it all
But not smooth but rough
Not easy but tough 
I ran for my life 
But went from frying pan to fire
I thought Femi was evil
Little did I know Leke is the real devil
Battered 
Shattered
Broken
Frightened
And threatened
I became in the hands of Leke
With him I saw maximum Shege
I got abused 
And ultimately abandoned 

I picked myself up
I dreamt of being at the top
Some animals with tails in-between their legs cannot stop that
I lost my heart
I just want to be better
Everyday I am left to speak with her
I remind her of the bruises 
I remind her of the wounds 
I remind her of how much pants we used to buy in a month 
I remind her of the much violence we had to endure within a month
The days we wished didn't turn night
The nights we wished didn't turn day
The rains we wished didn't fall
The sun we wished didn't shine
The periods we wished didn't show
The ones we fast and pray to see
The pills we had to take 
None of them deserve to have an offspring
The torture we had to endure
EVERYDAY I sit with her to remind her

I am her 
She is me 
They call me the radical feminist
I call myself...
The Groaning Radical Feminist
If that even best defines me...

This is my reality
And I am living it
Do not blame me
If you don't know my story