You call me mama? 
Who is your mama? 

I am the writhing agonies of self 
I am the hand resting on fetid sores 
I am the blood cleansed without shame 
I am the soft words on deaf ears 
I am the warmth in the cinders of last night’s fire 

The whole of Africa cries 
I open my arms and say, “put it on my shoulders, 
I will carry you 
I am not afraid of illness or curses or fear itself 
I am made of earth 
and strength resonates through me 
like the thumping of the primal drum” 

I feel the vibration of womanhood 
I walk tall and broad 
As my backside swaggers behind me 
Moved by a thousand weights on my shoulders 

And 
Everyday I am raped 
Everyday I am infected 
Everyday I am affected 
Everyday I give birth 
Everyday I see crime 
Everyday I am told 
Everyday I am uneducated 
Everyday I am laughed at 
Everyday I am scorned 

The whole of Africa cries 
I open my arms and say, “put it on my shoulders, 
I will carry you 
Even if you hate me, 
I have nothing but love to give 
I am woman 
I am mother 
I am lover 
I am friend 
I am the ether – I surround you 
I am not afraid of illness or curses or fear itself 
I am made of earth 
And strength resonates through me 
like the thumping of the primal drum” 

I feel the vibration of womanhood 
I am alive and beautiful 

Though a thousand hands assault 
A thousand more hearts command 
That I am woman 
Strength beyond strengths 

Look me in the eyes and see 
See what tales therein lie 
Of mothers like me before 
Ancestors of womanhood 
Who held by weak tether 
The strands of nation after nation 

Then rape me because it is you who fear 
Not I – 
I am a survivor. 

I know neither boundary nor border 
I am broader than that 
I am truth encompassed 
I am the love of a thousand mothers 
The fertile ovum of humanity 
I cannot be destroyed 

Though those who fear have tried 
I am uMama, I am uMamamkhulu, I am uMamamkhulukhlulu 
I am great things beyond all things 

Fear of greatness is understood 
As a naked dependent you came 
As a naked dependent you will go 
It is the way it has been and will forever be 

As the fearful trace the annuals of history and time 
I am written on every line 

I am uMama 
And I will love you, whether you like it or not 

As I sway and swagger down history 
You will be blanketed against my back 
Whether you like it or not.