
Serwaa
What Happened to Ama in that House? A Poem on the Shadow Pandemic

From where I sat
It looked like a normal house
In a normal neighborhood
But what happened inside was anything but normal
It was abnormal
It’s the tragedy of its invisible nature
So pervasive
That apathy
Has replaced the rightful position
Of concern and righteous action
How my sisters, did we get here?
That the world doesn’t care
And absentmindedly stares
At women’s suffering
Of the abused
Of the used
Of the broken housewife
Battered/
Black/
& Blue/
Blood dripping
Miscarriages
Blood dripping
What a loss
Blood dripping
“Maybe if I did things right…”
Blood dripping
She just can’t leave…..
But months later
After I drove away
With few words left to say
A powerful thing happened
Testify.
The dawn and beginnings of a new day
Was awakened
By a strength beyond human will
She left.
She was free
From the chains
Of the pain
Which kept her paralyzed
Defeated
And …
She was free
To receive social supports
To pick up one foot at a time
On her arduous and yet liberating
Road to recovery
We will never forget
The blood of her sisters slain
Thousands of lives lost
Proceeding from the shadow
Of this pandemic
“This war against women!”
But to hold on to hope
With a rope
slightly slipping from our fingers
What happened to Ama in that house
Was a transformation from a captive
To a woman who finally gained her freedom
She survived!