I’m curves with a backbone, perfume with a bite
I’m soft when I want but I’m fire on sight
Wisdom hit different when you earned every scar
and still I will always reach for the stars
I’m a woman in full now, petals and flame
I learned my own worth before learning your name
I don’t need rescuing, lifts, or a crown
I rise on my own when the world knocks me down
See, the woman who’s walked through her shadows alone
But I’m open to love if it matches my tone
I’m tender by choice now, not by default
I can melt in your hands but stand firm in my faults
I’m seasoned not salty, flavored just right
Wisdom in my stride, got my own damn light
I stopped askin’ for space in somebody’s life
I built my own peace… cut clean like a knife
I’m grown… and it feels divine to admit
that I finally love the woman I’ve grown into bit by bit
Self-reliant, aligned, with my boundaries tight
a mature woman shining in her own fight
When we lived beneath
The thatched-roof houses,
Curry cooked in earthen pots,
Flames burning from firewood gathered
From hills and thickets.
When bullock carts creaked
Under paddy loads,
Harvests reaped from fertile fields,
Bicycles ridden on dusty roads.
When the sound
Of hand-pounding paddy
Was heard from homes every day,
Women weaving at fly-shuttle looms
Sometimes till late at night
Then, in our land,
We helped one another-
Lives were simple and self-reliant.
Today, though we dwell
In grand concrete homes
And ride in cars of luxury,
We survive on grants from the Centre.
The food we grow falls far below our needs,
While blockades on the National Highways
Bring us untold pain .
Meanwhile, the gap between the rich and the poor
Continues to widen.
Today, the spirit we once knew fading -
The spirit of independance, equality, simple joys
Mutual help and cooperation.
VERSE VO
When we lived beneath thatch-roofed houses,
Curry simmered in pots,
Flames flickered from firewood gathered
From hills and thickets.
When bullock carts creaked
Under paddy loads,
Harvests reaped from fertile fields,
Bicycles spun on dusty roads.
When sounds of hand-pounding paddy
Echoed from homes everyday,
Women weaving at fly- shuttle looms
Sometimes till late night.
And when caws of the crows
And chirpings of tea cricket at dusk heard.
Then we helped one another -
Life was simple,self reliant,and beautiful.
Uncooperative
self reliant
unhelpful or
unwilling to asit
often done to
achieve benevolent
goalies
prioritizing the
well being of others over
the well being of ones self.
_________________________________
A great dancer both were
they made the jealous fool admitt.
Both are great dancers
but I wish him to
quit their alliance
and be part of mine
anything else is seen as
foolish and unproductive.
Due to the rigors of time
and finding love with another
he came to his senses
and reached out to those
who wished him apart of
there dance team
they met, they agreed, they
rehearsed, they developed a routine
something performers
would envy and what audiences
would demand.
They met at the right time
in there life before
they were to mean
from the rigors of experience
to see a future that
would included one another
There next obstacle was
finding the right sound
to be the backdrop
for the Movement of Collaborative
People
Rural people
self-reliant
vote red white and blue
City dwellers
vote dependent
subsidies anew
People with space
are free to think
harbingers of truth
Leading the way
the pond in sight
— where sits the Golden Goose
(The New Room: July, 2024)
When I was 12
our family arrived at Croydon.
Everything seemed grander
a real Municipal town
we had record and camera shops
and departmental stores
everything seemed geared for conspicuous expenditure
We seemed not to have beggars in the street
and the greenline buses took us to country lines
My secondary school seemed good
as were our teachers
We had night clubs and gigging places
Like Sinatras and the Cartoon
and Entertainment places
Like the Fairfield Halls and Warehouse
and ample cinemas
We were self reliant
with a beating soul
Winslow Homer of seascape fame
paint ed scenes just of Mainet
The epitome self-reliant Yankee
in his day a household name you see
If we seek to become self-reliant,
navigating earth life with breezy ease,
oh hermit, make heart with love compliant,
knowing our life’s a gift from God on lease,
securing from fears and desires, release.
We are living light, here to grow in love,
for which head and heart must act hand in glove
at all times, here and now in joy present,
as blessings divine in-pour from above,
assuring our soul’s heavenward ascent.
19-August-2022
I may have been a hypocrite,
But at least when it came
To my closest friends I gave a .
I may be fat,
But at least physically
I’m way tougher than that!
I may have been insecure,
But at least within
I can always reassure myself alone.
I may not be that great a scholarly writer,
But at least I choose
To never conform to standards, I’m a fighter!
I may have been always lonely,
But at least I have
Gained a sense of inner identity!
Hey World!
we all have moments when we need the help of someone else,
elsewhere we're just out there,
suffering in the silent struggles of self.
it's not selfish to be self reliant unless it makes you self centered.
At the center of one man's island near the gates where the lonely entered.
The entrance where the hindrance of arrogance commence to make sense of our bull.
So, who owns the bull that took a on my lawn? My lawn was fertilized till they burglarized the rise of my dawn.
By the dawns early light,
I was tired from the fight,
between the need of a good sleep,
and a restless cold night.
you inspire me.
you make me want to be
Audacious and
Beauteous and
Creative and
Distinctive and
Equable and
Forgiving and
Gentle and
Heroic and
Interesting and
Jocular and
Kind and
Loving and
Magical and
Non-judgemental and
Open-minded and
Patient and
Quemeful and
Rebellious and
Self-reliant and
Tender and
Unique and
Valiant and
Whimsical and
Xenial and
Youthful and
Zealous.
you inspire me.
you make me want to be
nothing like you.
4.22.2021
She tried!
But she failed.
Because it is impossible
To give what is not received.
Totally unreasonable
To expect the unpromised.
Completely regrettable
To be and feel unappreciated.
She stopped!
She tried!
To show that she's different
A giver, not a taker.
That she'd prefer
To be self-reliant
Not dependent.
She made it satiably coherent
That she would rather
Be a lover, not a sucker.
It was a total disappointment!
She tried!
To show you could triumph
For you, she could change.
Accept to take just half
And try to manage
Until you were ready
To give her not all, but enough.
But you were reading from a different page
So you made it tough
Impossible to gauge!
She tried!
To communicate
Make you understand
What she felt.
But you made it hard
For her tender heart
You openly tortured
And for long, she was patient.
Made sure she followed
For a while, when you left.
Her desire withered!
One flag on every roof
And with troop.
Dancing in free air
In its own sphere.
On rhythm of Independence
And self dependence.
Making earth's air more purified
Human being self reliant.
Why everyone has tear
Its correct time to Vanish fear.
Go with the one colour
Feel the independence in air.
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/am_poetic_blood_born_1244937
I love poetry with the whole of my being
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/my_name_is_nigeria_1246217
A message to my country Nigeria to be self reliant
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/the_last_acorn_1249332
experience with a deep river in my school environments.
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/ode_to_olumo_rock_1249588
Olumo rock a beautiful tourist center located in Abeokuta, Ogun state in Nigeria
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/end_the_beginning_1244732
written to depicts satirical mood of the epidemic at present
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/the_pit_of_hell_1246736
A message to the world of the Lords second coming
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/i_am_1251395
A bit quite of my personality
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/concubine_1245441
Dangers of insincerity in marriage
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/wandering_child_1244884
A message to prodigal sons or daughters all around the globe
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/use_your_gift_dont_use_you_1245995
Independence is the best attitude in life
12/5/2020
When I look back, feel you deserve 'Thank you'.
not that you've helped me a lot; fact is you
made me realize how to think anew;
Once thought my world is spinning around you.
Convinced without you I've no existence
sure you'd not leave me, help me each instant
but I was wrong; suffered life was twisted;
life taught me to move with no assistance.
Facing world, don't need your shadow to grow;
Past is no longer holding me, I know.
Learned to accept self as I'm; no crying
no grudges, work hard to meet requirement ;
your guilt taught me to be self reliant;
And you deserve 'Thank you' ; I'm not lying.
~X~X~X~
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Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.