Listening to my mother lie,
Singing all is well, but
The truth of her
Pain is neatly hidden
Underneath the pages
Of her favourite
Bible verses.
Her blind faith
Is a testimony
She wears a smile
Like her
Church uniform
On Sundays,
But within she
Is breaking
Her back carrying a
Heavy cross,
Ready to be
Crucified,
Not to wash our
Sins away but
For being a
Woman in a
World where
Being Eve means
Adam can rip
A rib
Off your rib cage
To fix his own ego.
Siphiwe Hlongwane is an avid reader and writer of poems. His work has been published on Praxis Magazine online and Poetry Portion. He resides in Johannesburg, South Africa.