Submissions by muneerahpazia (Makhotso Palesa Pulumo)

What happened to the me that lived off Ntozake Shange and Erykah Badu? The feministic, liberal me? The hippie-natured, poetic me? The natural, short-haired and content me? I miss her. I miss me. I miss ranting, for hours on end, about issues such as sexual inequality and the world's lack of poetic appreciation. I miss getting emotional over politics and studying fine literature out of my own free will. I miss my sentimentality. Who is this new girl who has taught her tongue to practice limits? Who is this new girl who added "shut up" into her to-do list? Where is the girl who dreamt...

The goose bumps.
As I caress your hard skin
And open you up,
Probing you to give me more
To show me more
I am your master tonight.
We will not stop until I get tired,
Until I’ve had enough
And beg you to show me mercy
To not tempt me any further
Because you know that
Once I start going,
I will be at it for hours.
I give a soft moan
As you start penetrating
The dwellings of my being
Forcing me to stare
Into your eyes
And I see what I imagine
As a triumphant look upon your face
Is that a cocky grin I detect?...

He said:
"Of all the missions I've embarked on,
loving you was definitely the riskiest.
Of all the men I've attempted to live up to,
the one in your head is impossible to mimic.
And of all the wild horses I've tried to tame,
you qualify as being the most unsubmissive of them all.
In simple words, you are difficult to love."

So she reinvented herself,
put on more makeup
smiled a little more
touched him more often
and approached him more softly.
Hoping he wouldn't leave,
hoping he would catch a glimpse
of the...