I. The aspiring writer
She toiled away at writing, without being inspired
To be a published author was what her heart desired
Words she could arrange, but she had no story to tell
Without a strong story, all ideas fell
Down the route of wishful thinking
She despaired, she saw her dream sinking..
Her life was too mundane, too ordinary
To be an inspiration for a capital story
Nor was she blessed with fertile imagination-
All this hampered her creative expression
**
II. The Woman with a Past
She looked around furtively, out of habit old
Walked with her collar turned up, though it was not cold
Then reminded herself that there was little to fear
The danger of genocide no longer lurked near
Nor was she in fear of displacement now
She was as safe here as her skin color would allow
Having escaped death, lived life in countries seven
Each worse than the other, by the time she was ten
Being a refugee in the United States was being kissed by fate
She was grateful, she knew she was fortunate..
Yet who knew here, who could understand
The pain of being driven away from your land
Especially from Rwanda, a country obscure
That she was a Tutsi mattered here no more
She was a freshman in an Ivy League university
She was grateful to her sponsors for this opportunity
Yet there was that constant, queasy pain
Lodged in the deepest recesses of her brain
**
III. The Meeting
She switched up her routine looking for inspiration
Hoping people-watching at the park would fire her imagination
Instead, every day a striking young woman intrigued her
She walked with small quick steps, as if in fear
She longed to make an acquaintance of her, and one day
The perfect opportunity for small talk came her way
She learnt more about this young woman, and wondered
Where she was from, what had happened to her..
One day she asked after much deliberation
About her past, and received a reply after initial hesitation
She had heard vaguely about Rwandan genocide
She realized the young woman had scars inside..
**
IV. The Collaboration
An unlikely friendship blossomed between the two
For the first time, she opened up about her trauma too
One day she confided that she longed to tell her story
To purge herself, to dig up from her memory all details gory
She had found herself unable to write about it all these years
Trying to do so only exacerbated her fears..
Our aspiring writer realized this might well be
The Eureka moment for her, if she could write this story
Soon it was decided our young refugee’s gruesome tale
Would be authored by the older woman, this time she wouldn’t fail
**
V. Success and Healing
The book was completed in two months, and became
Wildly popular, both of them acquired fame
The young woman spoke to varied audiences about this,
And in the process received a satisfying catharsis…
Our writer was approached promptly
To write yet another biography
Thus they found success, she found healing too
It was time to forgive and begin life anew..
Image: Eternal Flame at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center
https://thisisafrica.me/rwandan-genocide-memorials-help/
Passion...unbridled 