Wild

By Emmeline Bisiikwa, Uganda:

I try to run, to hide

But I end up with you anywhere.

Is there a life where I get away safe?

Or is it my fate to end up here

Losing myself as you domesticate me

I wasn’t meant to be tamed,

And yet you think am a wild fire

That needs putting out.

 

He says he can’t keep away

That I draw him in with each new day

He’s holding me back

I want to fly high

Away from expectations.

I want to be free to be me.

 

He says he never knew someone like me

That everyone paled in comparison

I kind of like being on a pedestal

While he comes to pay homage to me,

Rather- the image of me.

The things he worships aren’t truly me

It’s all the things I can’t let myself be.

 

Too opinionated to be happy

Too headstrong to let him lead

He hates my independence

Says I can never let myself be happy.

I hate never being good enough

Always having to change to fit in his palms

Maybe I just want to be everything me

And have that accepted for a change.

 

I think it scares him,

How I am always intense.

How I need to be reassured,

And held tight right before I sleep.

And yet any other time I push him away

And don’t let him take care of me.

I think he misunderstands me,

The only thing wild about me is my emotions.