Three Poems by Iruoma Valerie

This is who I am 

This is who I am 
An introverted extrovert
A sociable shy girl
An emotional loner 
A creative procrastinator 
And a lady to the core
This is who I am
I’m a contradictory statement 
But a loyal one
I always got your back 
Even when you ain’t got mine 
I always speak up for you
Even when you forget my name 
This is who I am 
An ambitious pushover 
A hardworking lazy ass
A friendly stranger 
A softie with a hardcore
I’m a thoroughbred of the feminine specie
I’m a living oxymoron 

The malleability of man’s mind
 
So a thought I was pondering
“The malleability of man’s mind”
Someone steps up and tells you something is wrong 
Without doubt or wonder
Man agrees
Someone steps up and tells you this is the way it should be done 
Without questions or suspicions 
Man agrees
“The malleability of man’s mind”
It can be bent, reshaped, and remoulded 
That is the beauty 
And that is the shame as well
All one needs 
The person man looks up to 
Make person say whatever 
And man shall believe
This is how the greatest men were made 
So also is how the greatest tyranny ensued 
Irony;
How do you differentiate tyranny and heroism
You can’t!!!
Some person just painted a picture 
Which your malleable mind accepted 
She
 
She seems happy
She has confidence overflowing
The most cheerful person you know 
Always happy 
Always full of energy
With the positivity
And innocence of a child 
To a point 
It becomes annoying 
It becomes irritating 
You call her a noisemaker 
She laughs it off
You call her a pest 
It seems like she is bulletproof
But you forget 
She has a heart 
She has a mind 
She has a soul 
She has a body 
She has insecurities 
She has voices in her head
Telling her how useless she is 
How unloved she is 
How unwanted she is 
You remember the saying 
The one that says 
The one with the brightest smile hurts the most 
Well, it’s true 
At night she weeps 
Letting all the pain out
During the day, she smiles 
As her heart silently bleeds 
She keeps the positivity. 
Because that’s all she has
She seems like a pest 
Because if she is left alone 
The voices begin to haunt
As she laughs 
She sheds a little of the weight
As she talks 
She talks a little of the pain away
As she fights for her love 
She fights all the demons
Laugh with her 
Talk with her
Fight with her 
Maybe then she can overcome 
the demons that exist in her imagination maybe then she can let
Someone else into her mind
Maybe then it will seize to be 
“Me, myself and I” in her heart
With all of her noise 
All of her laughter
All of her attention-seeking 
All of her energy
All of her positivity 
All she needs is love
It’s not like I’m saying
After she gets the live 
Everything changes 
Actually, no one knows 
What happens after love comes into play
Would the depression leave
Would it get worse 
Would it just reduce
She doesn’t know
I don’t know
No one knows
All we know is that 
If left like this 
She would break down 
Sooner or later
She would become 
A shell of her old self 
The voices in her head
Would take over
The demons she imagined would take control 
Love is all she needs 
Love is all she wants 
Love is all she desires 

Poet’s Bio

Iruoma Valerie is a digital strategist who enjoys writing, taking photographs, and creating content. She resides in Lagos and freelance from the comfort of her bedroom, dancing when the mood strikes, singing at the top of her voice, and doing what she loves the most.

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