The Pain That Will Not Go Away

The Pain That Will Not Go Away – By Evangeline Mukami

At eleven, I was just a child,

Innocence wrapped in a world so wild.

In the poverty that surrounded my days,

I didn’t know pain would come in such ways.

A morning like any other, at first,

But li le did I know, my life would burst.

Strange visitors came, their faces unknown,

Our home seldom crowded, my heart overthrown.

I was called into the darkness of our house,

Where light snuck through cracks like a silent mouse.

Always sharp, always sneaky, I’d find my way,

But that day, I couldn’t see the disarray.

"Remove your clothes," they said with cold eyes,

And I stood confused, as my heart turned to cries.

Protec ng my private parts, all I’d ever known,

But now they were gone, exposed, alone.

Held down by women who once cared,

With a stranger in white, the room felt impaired.

I couldn’t understand, my mind in distress,

The naivety gone, replaced by a mess.

A sharp s ng pierced through my soul,

Through my body, taking its toll.

The pain was unreal, my mind couldn’t cope,

A loss of control, and with it, my hope.

A second injec on came, then scissors sharp,

Each cut a betrayal, tearing me apart.

I fought with all that I had in my heart,

But the ba le was lost from the very start.

They called me coward, weak, unbrave,

But what did they know of the life I must save?

A cut, a wound, that me could not heal,

A piece of my body taken, stolen, so real.A co on placed, and I was carried away,

To a bed where my siblings would lay.

But this was just the start, the beginning of pain,

A cyst, a journey, with nothing to gain.

Six surgeries, over fi een years of strife,

Cos ng my childhood, my youth, my life.

The woman I was, now scarred and worn,

This pain, it lingered, deep and torn.

Yet this pain, though cruel and unkind,

Has not broken my spirit, not crushed my mind.

Through the years, I’ve fought to survive,

Determined to thrive, to be alive.

I speak now for those who cannot be heard,

For every girl, for every woman disturbed.

Through my story, I will shine a light,

To protect the future, to end this fight.

Each day I heal, each step I take,

I’ll make the world safe for others’ sake.

For the girls, the women who s ll bear the scar,

I will stand as a voice, no ma er how far.

The pain may never fully fade,

But I will rise from this bi er trade.

I fight for the future, for the girls to be free,

For a world where pain like mine will cease to be.