I saw her smile
Portrait by Michal Sielacz
Poem ‘I saw her smile’
by Monika Beata Francisco-Ribeiro
There is a girl… She never smiles…
Her skin is flawless and her lips are smooth
And yes, there is always a man by her side
He seems to adore her, she remains aloof…
Her man worships her and her flawless skin
And he loves to love her dependence on him
Yet, although she mastered the art of enticement
She needs a lot more men can give, or have…
So she drinks his life just to fill herself
Yet, the more she takes the emptier she gets
So now she provokes him to use and abuse her
Filling her emptiness with drama and pain…
She becomes a woman, a lover of sorrow –
A slave of wrong touch, a slave of wrong words
She rejects all boundaries, and breaks all taboos
The world stars describing her as promiscuous
Soon, she disregards the way she was made
And begins to swing from a boy to a girl…
She reaches the place where even her face
No longer hides failure of her mother Eve…
Where her own mind starts tormenting her
Shouting “Your blood might be positive…!”
Desperate for answers she gives drops of it away
Then, waits for a piece of paper to decide her fate
And she prays a little prayer – a prayer of tears…
Negative! The paper says and again she breathes…
She is ready… to be one with a man of her own…
She is ready now to be with him, and to let him go…
To her, he is not a cushion, nor a fashion statement
To him, she is not a toy, nor a sexy girlfriend
They are made from same and true spiritual soil…
She is ready now to be with him, or to let him go…
Although her desire is still shy and silent,
It is heard and is granted by the Most, Most High
They are drawn to one another
She becomes his wife…
She may look like same old her, but…
I saw her smile.
Monika Beata Francisco-Ribeiro is a poet, and a writer who after completing a Master’s degree Course in Marketing, and having experienced a piece of the corporate world of business found a deep desire to explore creative writing and performing arts. Monika was born and raised in Poland (to a Nigerian father and a Polish mother). She settled in London in 2004. Married to a Ghanaian she continues to enjoy the exposure to many different cultural expressions which influence how she thinks and what she writes about. In a hope of being able to choose only the best from all of the above influences she relies on the Christian faith and philosophy – the very ones she trusts to bring order into her mind and distinction into her art. Different types of written expression are a form of therapy for her, helping the writer to explain life, with the smaller and larger issues it brings. Universal messages conveyed throughout her poetry reveal a level of consciousness, which continues to bring inspiration to individuals… Having contributed to various UK based publications including ‘Black Heritage Today’ and others; she has also written a collection of poems, and is currently preparing to release her first poetry book. Asked why she writes Monika answers, “I have to and love to…”
