Fatoumata Gandega
bodies of the dark sea
Our bodies body, down on our knees.
Crushed by the fake sympathies,
Who doesn't seems to help me,
Fear the marginalized communities, as they thrive to survive on their knees,
Drowned by unreachable expectations of the accepted society.
Water is my escape,
Water is my distress.
How I could help,
The pain and the sorrow of being the black sheep who never seems to fit in.
No matter what I try, the fingers pointed at me grow every day.
Our bodies body,
Accept my marginalised body
Look what you’re ashamed to see,
Glows in front of the sea.
In the light shall I stay,
In the light shall I rise.
Walking by the beach,
Every step that I take, gets me closer to my goal.
Like a coin in a wide sea,
I’m looking for an answer.
Can anyone hear me?
Is it you?
The light in the plain dark I am looking for?
By the moonlight,
I’ll bury pain and desires at the bottom of the sea.
FEMME
Femme,
Soft is your skin,
Sweet is your smile,
What are you doing to me,
I'm pleading you,
No,
Begging you,
Can't I enjoy your company?
Step by step,
I want to reach the sun as you do.
Femme, a powerful being,
What kind of powers do you hold?
Will I be as clever as you are?
Femme,
You are glorified for your strength,
I will do the same but for your patience.
They think they are better than you.
But are they?
The fantasy of their glory,
Will bring them to their own misery?
Correct me if I'm wrong,
Does it not feel like you are tired?
All the hope relies on your shoulder,
Can you even save us all,
When you barely manage to save yourself?
Up in the sky near the sun is your place,
How do you feel being the hostage,
Hostage of evilness,
Humans would love to spread on you.
Purity was your only sin,
Too supreme to be left alone.
Femme,
Smile to us one last time,
As our last hope was stained by our greediness.
Fatoumata Gandega is a French creative writer and poet. She is focused on amplifying the voices of marginalized communities and shedding light on important societal issues. Fatoumata writes deep personal poems that serve as a voice for the parts of herself that were once silenced. In addition to her writing, Fatoumata is a part-time theatre student and a performer in Dublin and London.