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January 15th, 2026
Africa Poetry Contest #6 – First Place
by Hephzy
Love
What's love?
Love – a four-letter word I've known all my life. Or so I thought.
In church, they said it was unconditional.
That God sees our sins, our flaws, and still wraps His arms around us,
shielding us from evil, even from our own fears.
At home, I came to understand that love could take the form of discipline.
It was lashes from a belt,
so I wouldn't grow up to be like those other girls.
It was my father taking me by the hand and driving me to school to pay my fees,
even after I disrespected him.
It was my mother turning a blind eye,
when my hands snuck a few pieces of fried chicken from the pot.
My dad searching for a suit that had money tucked in,
so I wouldn't starve at school.
Love was when he told us stories at night,
when SONEL took the light* for a few hours,
and we'd lie on top of mats, under the moonlight,
giggling and laughing.
It was bringing my friends over to the house,
and Mum setting up a blackboard in the backyard to teach us.
Love was the oversized suit tucked in a long skirt I wore –
a badge clipped to the left side of the suit, bearing the name of my dream school
they could barely afford.
It was being given space.
To breathe, to read,
because my exams were greater than my exhaustion.
And now, I wonder...
Was it love
when I had to work to earn it?
When just being me wasn't enough?
Was it love
when my fingers and toes bled from the effort?
When I begged for rest and got silenced?
When my thoughts were dismissed?
When my feelings were labelled stubborn?
When I drowned in silence?
When my shadow dared to swallow me whole
in a room full of people – and no one saw me sinking?
Or when I was always called
immature?
Is that what it feels like to be loved?
Because my whole life has felt like a performance –
where I hold awful conversations in my head, loathing myself,
for falling short of perfection.
To be the perfect child –
a machine,
who never questioned,
never rested,
never said,
No.
Maybe I wasn't totally loved...
I was just useful –
Convenient.
Note:
*SONEL took the light – A power outage imposed by the electric company.
About the Poet
Hephzy resides in Ibusa, Delta State, Nigeria.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications
on Hephzy's Artist Page.
This poem is also featured in Poetry World #14, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.
Keywords: family silence, emotional survival, when love hurts
Previously published in Africa Poetry Magazine:
Darkness
by Ali Scotty
Africa Poetry Magazine is part of the Wax Poetry and Art Network.
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