Erasure

They faced and continue to face
the whip of squirming consequences
caused by the consistent silencing
and policing of their voices,
their bodies and their entire
existence continue to be neglected.

They face erasure in all its forms
and manifold manifestations
disguised as
tradition, culture, and heritage.

Their being
is reduced to the zone of non-being,
their needs and aspirations are displaced
and ignored as if their lives matters not.

Women, black women in particular
face erasure in all spheres of life,
be it in the history books, in the arts,
in the economy, in geopolitics and everything-in-between.

Women, black women in particular
are the main victims of this quagmire.
It will only take women
to dismantle this monster
by writing, singing, painting and sculpturing
their names into existence
like Zenzile Makeba did.