trigger warning: sexual abuse
a nutshell: among Tanzanian writer Nyachiro Lydia Kasese’s many brilliant poems, I found this one particularly moving in its reflection on the struggle to vocalise childhood trauma
a line: “and she would smell his scent on my body and know that we shared the same demons”
an image: the way in which the poet writes about whether a penny or a set of keys is in there gives this poem an atmosphere that feels paradoxically humdum & horrifying all at once
a thought: this interview shares how the scene was drawn from Kasese’s life – the moment triggered her to think back to her own sexual abuse at that age and, as she couldn’t find the words to vocalise it to anyone, she wrote about it
a fact: this poem was longlisted for the 2014 Babishai Niwe Poetry Prize
want to read Things That Were Lost in Our Vaginas? visit here
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