Samkela Stamper

Spotlighting Pan-African Poetry

Biography

THE WOMAN THAT IS I

I am a woman,
I am redefined in society!
My femininity, subdivided and put into files
Into various categories

In words I have been described
Immortalized and idolized
Put into pedestals
Praised and glorified

Secrets of sensuality
Live within me
I am the object of men’s desires
I have been called a temptress
A seductress
My predecessor divided nations and launched a thousand ships
To fulfill one man’s destiny
In ancient Greek mythology

I am known for my complexity
The stubbornness that is
Yet I still deny
Maybe it’s the woman in me

I am majestic
The mother of all nations
I cry
Yet I rise
No fallen woman will become me
I will defy the odds against me

The treasure that is you see
Ebony skin likened to the richest soil of my land
Where the river lies
Waterfall runs
Lioness born free
And eagle flying to the highest peak of the mountains
In primitive lands
Of my beautiful Africa

Created with the rib of my mate
By the power that is Divinity
To multiply God’s nation
And to fulfill the prophecy
And embark on our journey
So we can reach our destiny

I will not deny my fate
The illusion of my truth a mere tale
I can never be defined and simplified
They have tried and failed
I am a woman
You can’t define me

I am beyond nature’s conception
I am an enigma
No creature can ever claim to know me
Man has come close
But he did not conquer me

I have many facets
Man alone cannot begin to fathom me
I have dimensions that elude even I
For I am a woman
And I reign supreme

Featured Poem:

THIS IS NOT A POEM

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This is not a poem
It’s a eulogy from one dark skinned sista
To another
There are times in our society when
Dark skinned women are not considered beautiful
It is not done to be darker than one expected standards
One just wants to hide away
To hide the shame and the stigma
Of being called darker than most

Some succumb to the shame
They bleach their beautiful skins
In order to conform to what is considered the beautiful complexion
They unwittingly destroy their beauty
Throw away the skin lightener my beautiful sister
Throw it away
Because you are the true beauty of Africa
And the essence of her being
She reared you from the richness of the soil
And you are her vision

You are beautiful, and let no one tell you otherwise
With your natural and supple brown skin
That brings out the beauty of your eyes
And the brightness of your smile
Your delectable chocolate skin that needs no make up
And does not burn in the sun
Your natural earth tones that define you
And the beauty that becomes you

All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 South Africa License.

THIS IS NOT A POEM by Samkela Stamper

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South Africa

Biography

Samkela Stamper is a poet and community artist. She volunteers her time in programs that use the arts as a tool to impart social skills to children and youth from communities that need it the most.
She is a Nelspruit, White River based author of the self-published memoir, Not for All the Apples, Peanut Butter & Jam. Samkela first read her memoir at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in Scotland in 2012. This led to an invitation to launch the book at the 2012 edition of the Open Book Festival in Cape Town. Samkela is an official participant of the Edinburgh World Writer’s Conference 2012/ 2013.

More recently, Samkela re-launched her book upon invitation by the NELM (The National English Literal Museum) as part of the National Arts Festival Grahamstown.

Samkela is currently a features writer for Lowveld Living Magazine. She is also an MC and the founder of the Single Hand Project and is on a mission to sell five million copies of her book.

Samkela Stamper