“A letter to my best friend” is a letter to oneself, a hope for healing

Dear Aliya,

I went through shit today,

I have passed through death lines

I saw and felt it coming,

Starved and thirsted

This is what I saw

People will always be people

With the kinna shit I am

And the kinna purity I am

No one!

No man helped me!

Except God

In thirst and hunger

Longing for what you don’t have

Feeling my heart pumping every drop of tear

Each second my eyes watch

Watch cars passing

The clouds moving

People laughing

Clock ticking

My chest keeps aching

My throat burning from the pain

I can’t show cause

What will the society say

I don’t want to be seen weak

The pain is too much to handle

I Am indecisive

Whether I stay or leave

The pain will always be there

To just remind me

That I need to get my shit together

Cause no one

No man will do it for me!

Period!!!

One more thing,

I missed you.

With love,

Leah.

******

Courtesy of the author

Link to the Italian translation

Leah Gerald Soko is 22 years old, she was born and raised in Tanzania. She is studying to get a Bachelor degree in Arts in Films and Television Studies from the University of Dar es Salaam. She loves anything concerning art including poetry “which has been an amazing journey for me to open up my feelings, to heal and talk about all the things going on in my life“.

“I was struggling because of financial issues in my family and because I was in a toxic relationship […] Then one day a friend of mine invited me to a poetry club at my college and I saw how poets use words to speak about themeselves and be open about their feelings. I felt it could be a way to heal from my depression and anxiety. When I wrote my first poem the experience and the feeling was so beautiful that I now write anytime I feel I need to express something and address someone specific or even my African society. “