Phindu Zaie Banda is a #Malawian#feminist who is passionate about using #poetry to advocate for social justice. Her work is centred on #women and their lived experiences, using raw emotions to illustrate the various dimensions of femininity. She is a fierce advocate for #genderequality and creative expression, using different platforms to break the silence surrounding cross-cutting issues.
Below you can read her poem:
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We have had to build homes
in the strangest of places;
Places as as strange to us
as we are to them;
Places as foreign to our skin
as the pain that drove us away.
We have had to find ourselves
in the face of strife and grief,
Where once we were the sun, the rain
we have had to water crops with tears
And have given up the rainbow
in light of the acceptance we trade off.
We have had to change here,
so deeply and quickly that we are sore
from experiences both life and death;
The harsh reality of straight lines
On an otherwise round earth;
The realisation that there exist many truths.
We have had to find joy in dark crevices,
beauty in the tightest of offered spaces,
peace when pain is shoved in our faces.
Even when it hasn't appeared possible,
when our attempts have seemed futile,
we have retained something beautiful.
We have had to build homes
everywhere but where we belonged
and made something of ourselves
worth celebrating despite it all.
We are building, still,
and soon we'll be home sweet home.
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Since starting writing in 2014, Phindu Zaie has headlined many arts and corporate events, and also facilitated creative workshops aimed at harnessing the transformative power of the arts. Phindu Zaie is inspired by everyday life and writes honestly about her own fears, joys and sorrows; using these to inspire others.