Young Blood
No woman ever forgets the day her womb
first opened up,
Painting the town red and inviting new
opportunities,
The initial "finally, I'm a woman",
And the subsequent shame.
*
Maybe for some it was in the comfort of their
own bedroom
Or in the middle of the shopping mall while
drinking milkshakes with their friends,
For some it could have even been in the
examination hall, crippling the answers that
ensued.
But the shame that comes after is just the
same.
*
Soon comes the hardly subtle laughter
behind your back when your school
skirt is drenched in blood,
The "I told you so" smirks the boys in
your class give each other when you go
to the bathroom with a cosmetic purse,
The class clown who describes menstruation
in Sex Ed as "when girls piss blood" and
the boys erupt in laughter while the
girls blush and stutter,
Oh, and let's not forget the dismissive
head mistress who tells you "no one in
the real world would accept 'you time
of the month' as a viable excuse to skip
work".
*
But instead of paying tribute to those who
put their finger over the blood moon and
deny its existence,
Let's rather pay tribute to the girls who grew
up without the knowledge of their bodies'
capabilities,
The ones who grew up in an environment
that did not afford them the privilege of
discussing the birds and the bees,
The ones who made their own pads from
newspaper and cotton wool because
feminine hygiene is too heavily taxed.
And the women who endured months of
aches and pains in order to let us emerge
from their wombs.
*
Because blood can be beautiful,
Blood can be fruitful,
And blood can even be worn on our faces like
the markings of a warrior,
Divine feminine warriors.
*
But up until now, blood had become
synonymous with death and violence,
Taboo and gore,
The unspeakable and more.
*
I think it is high time we changed the narrative,
High time we stopped apologizing for the bodies
we have been burdened and blessed with.
This is our blood,
Accept it.
- S.D.
Samantha Daffue is a poet and prose writer. She is currently completing her BA Honours degree at the University of the Western Cape. She is a devoted cat mom and lover of animals.
Follow her on Instagram now to view more of her work.
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