Bittersweet Poem by Charlina Daitouah Smith

The white women* came out today,
shrill cries greeting their assimilation.
They came out, beads-wrapped
sinewy waists, erect breasts,
shining with new oil.

They came, gyrating trim bodies to the
heady beat of the drums, bringing
submission and love.

The white women, their excited voices
shattering the calm of the early morning,
bringing fortitude and strength.

Skilled to hold life, leaving their precious
parts in the women bush.

*the white women – a reference to graduates of the Sande society. The Sande Society is a women's association found in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea that initiates girls into adulthood, confers fertility, instills notions of morality and proper sexual comportment, and maintains an interest in the well-being of its members throughout their lives. In addition, it carries out female genital mutilation.