y’all were always so quiet
forgetting it was sylvia and marsha who started this fight
now the flag’s more white than
rainbow-bright
tryin’ to bury the fact that the first pride was a riot
between us
was never a conversation
just a hostage negotiation
the items up for deliberation –
our humanity for your participation
our sanity for your liberation
y’all reach out only when you need a token
no care for the bodies broken
and then, as appreciation, y’all get
your much anticipated liberation
and i’m still stuck in damnation
damn this nation
About the author
An emerging multilingual writer, Rafeif Ismail is committed to creating stories which explore the rich diversity of this continent, hoping that one day there can be stories told in all mediums that all people can relate to. Her current goal is creating works that blend the traditional elements of the arts of her home country of Sudan with elements of classic and contemporary western arts. She is the winner of the 2017 Deborah Cass Prize for Writing with the short story ‘Almitra Amongst Ghosts’. In 2017, Rafeif’s short story ‘Light at The End’ was published along with the works of three other emerging African writers in the anthology Ways of Being Here, a joint project of the Centre for Stories and Margret River Press. She is currently working on her first novel and hopes to also write for theatre and screen. She can be found exploring Twitter @rafeifismail.