Take me where the sun is
My flowers wilt where there is no love
Generations of women left behind sit at the core of my spirit
Do not tell me women like me do not need reassurance
I need more.
I need freedom.
Redemption
Where darkness has made a home out of my skin,
I need deliverance.
Take me where the price for fulfillment is not my own blood.
Release me from the shackles that weigh me down and burn my ankles when all the masses see is a woman swiftly going about her own way.
Love is the true religion, a God I will blindly follow over and over again
Give my flowers what they need to grow.
Linathi Makanda is a South African photographer and storyteller. She is the author of the poetry and prose collection When No-One Is Watching. Born and raised in Mthatha, a small town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, her hopes are to open the windows of opportunity for herself and many other women to occupy creative spaces where the definition of art as well as the abilities of women in the context, stretch far beyond what is already known. Themes she explores include love, survival, despair, heartbreak, gender, healing, self love and loss. Makanda’s photographic works also aim to put out powerful messages about authentic expression and the realization that everything and everyone is art. Her works have been published and recognized by the likes Vogue Italia as well as Michigan’s Saginaw Valley State University art journal.