Title: Girl in the Dark Room
To turn on the light is forbidden
Candles may be dangerous too.
They can steal my virginity.
Be away from light!
I am told.
Beaten, beaten.
Empty, I must obey,
accept darkness
as a gift of God
Forbidden from loving,
I am filled with too much pain,
too much hate.
A girl, forbidden from talking,
I must listen. I am a mistake,
an enormous shame.
Forbidden from asking,
What is my fault?
Why am I such a mistake?
Girl in the Dark Room,
The tale of a poet,
Silenced, silenced, silent.
Girl in the Dark Room
is published, but the poet
is dead.
Girl in the Dark Room.
The poem written on her tombstone:
There is no silence for poets:
Only power.
By N.
Photo by Chaos Stocks.
I really enjoyed this poem. Even with all of the things taken from this person, they still have power. I think that is a very strong statement to make to any person in the world that is being oppressed.
Wow. The strength of the speaker in this poem shines through, creating a light in the dark room. Beautiful and heartbreaking. Wonderful writing!
A stunning, stunning poem. Once again, N., you are saying it all. Stacy
Your words, N, are like a beacon, a pillar of light through so much darkness. I am deeply moved.
~Kat
This is the third poem we read in the women’s writing workshop in prison. I wanted to present three poems by one poet of this project and chose your work. Some in the workshop wrote poems about what the title of their life would be. This poem scared me a little and I hope you are okay. You are an evocative writer and I hope you are still writing.
Lisa