Deepa’s Poem
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
In honor of International Day of the Girl, we'd like to share a poem written by one of our very own Kopila Scholars, Deepa Nepali. She originally performed this poem on stage last year and dedicated it to our partners She's the First. It took our breath away. All of the poetry training from the amazing Sarah Kay and the Word Warriors have clearly made an impression.
She's the First
by Deepa Nepali
I am a girl.
A girl in Nepal, in the beautiful mountains.
The sun is on the horizon.
I’m getting older and with the passing of time I start to feel like the world is set against me.
I am a girl on the side of a river bed breaking stones
Morning to dusk washing dishes and clothes
Working, earning, in someone else’s home, in the fields, in a city hotel.
Sleeping in the ally between the big buildings, under a piece of plastic, or in a mud house.
Somehow I feel like I’m failing.
I am a girl.
I begin to dream.
I want to be a doctor, an engineer, a pilot, a teacher
I am told that I’m a girl who can’t get an education, knowledge, and opportunities.
I’ll have to get married and go to my husband’s house.
Spending on my education would be a waste of money.
So I work, in the kitchen and in the fields like all of the women who came before me.
I am a girl.
I sleep in the cow shed, outside on the floor, in the cold, on a pile of hay with the animals.
I can’t touch anything or do certain things for 5 days of the month,
because I’m suffering from something that I can’t control
when I have my period.
I am a girl, turning into a young woman.
I have feelings that I never had before.
Everyone says it’s time for me to get married. There are rules according to my caste, my age, my family, my wealth. But what about me? Why didn’t anybody ask me if I was ready? I feel too young. I don’t feel mature. Is this for society to decide?
I dig my feelings deep into the depths of my heart.
Dear mother I cannot breathe, in this tradition somewhere in between rich and poor, somewhere in between higher and lower castes, somewhere between discrimination,
is me.
a girl.
Let this all pass.
Let’s bring a change and make this a new Nepal, a new world.
Let’s make our failures the beginnings for the path to success.
I am a girl and I cannot suppress my feelings. I will not spoil my life. I will not ignore my opportunities waiting in front of me like a new day.
I am going to defeat this.
The sun is on the horizon and I’m dreaming but I’m awake.
I am a girl but I am not a failure. Not anymore.
I am a girl and I am better than you think, sturdier than I look, smarter than you know, braver than I show and stronger than you believe.
I am a girl.
I will be the first.
To go to school. To get an education. To have chances.
To love and express my love.
The earth will not be destroyed by me making my own decisions.
I can be like Miss Maggie Doyne, or Florence Nightingale, or Mother Theresa or Ghandi or whatever I want. I will not stumble.
I’m going to shake up the world from the corners, and light up the sky with my laugh.
And instead of breaking rocks I am going to rock the world.
I’ll wash away old traditions while I wash dishes and clothes, and when I plant in the fields, I’ll plant a new future, a new path.
One of equality.
I will be the first.
The sun is on the horizon and the day has come.
I woke up realized the world was behind me. Fighting for me. Cheering for me. Set up for me thrive and succeed.
This is a place where I will leave my mark.
And when I’ve done everything I needed to do, they will say.
She was the first.
Amazing! We're so proud of her. You can sponsor the education of a student like Deepa for $40 per month, or $480 per year.