Who.... Poem by refilwe ranape

I’m a creature, a bird, a lioness alike;
My being a mystery; a mountain, the ocean still be;
And the earth, oh! The earth so full of profusion;
My soul, my spirit; my body, up in the sky thee yearn to be;
But feathers, I have not;

My people, the nations, my brothers, in me you bestowed a giant;
The rock you place on my head, fever on my brows won’t go away;
An elephant you’ve crowned me; I say it is the strength in my bones
That I carry the load often too heavy to bear;
Crown me a queen! Crown me a queen! I am a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt,
I am a lover, a companion, a friend, a colleague, a worker,
I am cleaner, a sweeper, a cook, I am a care giver, I’m feeble, I am who I am;
A creature, But feathers, I have not.