Written piece
Broken soul
Yahaya Amari
Nigeria
About this piece
When plagued with the most daunting obstacles, where do you seek to muster strength?
Nelson Mandela notably found his courage in a single poem: "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley. He would recite it to himself when things become unbearable and giving up seems like an option.
Poem: Broken soul
I’m not a broken soul
I am only a reawakened soul
I am only washed with a lighter soap
I am only cleansed with a lighter touch
Torched with fire, now I am learning to glow
I once stepped on a broken bulbs
now my steps are illuminating glows
Scars and cracks let the lights in differently
I took the pen, mapped and carved my paths differently
In the scars I found road to the destination, broken but beautiful,
Beautiful and broken
So I speak to the pieces,
I say: ‘you’re not lost, you’re loud’
Echoing the truth of my worth
I am not a broken soul, I am awakened.
I am not shattered glass
I'm a mosaic, rearranged
Pieces still sharp, but telling a new story
Loud, proud and unspoken.
“Broken Soul”
©️Yahaya Amari