DEBBIESPEAKS

  What is Love? Some Say it's the tingling you feel in your heart. Some say it’s when you put others before yourself. Some say it’s choosing yourself above all. But I say that love is you.   I love the way you came running when no one else could. You pamper me like no other would, And tell me you’re here when trouble ever comes knocking. The one I look up to whenever life doesn’t seem to be working. I don’t care if everyone disappears, Because I know you’ll always appear.   He’s not a cheat, but He does love others too. I’m not the obsessive lover who wants no one else close. How can this polygamy be so sweet? Wondering who this love is? It’s Emmanuel… Have you met Him too?         What does He mean to you? Tell me in the comments. I'd love to hear from you. Photo credit: Pexels.          

  What is the density   Of my life, my identity? Maybe there’s no telling it, Cause even I can’t fathom it.   “They say I only get to live once, So why do I want to spend it in bonds? Don’t I know that life is passing through? So why do I feel at ease slipping through?”   “Look at Shade, she’s just your mate.” “Even that Bode is up to date.” Voices say I’m left behind, As if my worth could be defined.   Why must I always be  compare d , Even though I am still being prepared? Abeg, let everybody just rest. This life is deeper than who is the best.   Some people bloom in early rain, Some grow through seasons filled with pain. The seed that waits beneath the ground Is not yet lost because it’s not found.   So if they say I’m not enough, I’ll still keep walking through the rough. For I am not a copy to be ,   I am becoming who I’m meant to be.   In a world full of comparison and expectations, how do you protect your peace and stay true to yo...

  I mistook attention for affection. I confused infatuation with connection. I let myself drift on waves of fleeting joy, believing there was nothing wrong with living in the moment.   I told myself, “It’s just for a little  whil e. ” But little whiles have a way of reaching for forever. Then my No became an inconvenience, and I learn ed  that love does not grow impatient because of a boundary.   But was it ever love?   So I walked away— not because my heart stopped feeling, but because my conscience began speaking louder, even while my heart still wanted to stay.   I cannot rewrite the chapter I lived through, but I can choose the one I write next.   And this time, I choose peace over pleasure, clarity over confusion, myself over a love that was never truly mine.   Sometimes walking away is not the absence of love; it is the presence of self-respect. Have you ever had to choose yourself even when your heart wanted to stay? Share your thought...

  With cries announcing my arrival, My father looked into my eyes. His smile never quite reached them. Because I am a woman. My brother and I played in the sand, Then Mother called me away. "Adunni, come with me to the kitchen." Why? Because I am a woman. In a world still ruled by men, I fight every day to earn my place. I must work twice as hard to receive the same respect. Because I am a woman. I'm told my time is running out. They measure my worth by the ring I do not wear. Their whispers grow louder each passing year. Because I am a woman. I leave the home that raised me, To build another with the one I love. Even my father's name is no longer mine. Because I am a woman. We both shared the pleasure, Yet only my body bears the proof. Through pain and sacrifice, I bring forth new life. Because I am a woman. And still, they ask why women are celebrated, "What makes them so special?" they wonder. Perhaps I know the answer all too well.   Because I am a woman...

  I love my face, But I think the other girl has it better. I think my body is okay, But why do I still compare?   What if I had a different nose? Would I look more beautiful then? What if my shoulders were like hers? Would I finally feel enough?   Sometimes I ask the mirror, “Am I truly beautiful?” Then I wonder when I started seeing myself Through someone else’s reflection.   Perhaps I had it wrong all along. Beauty is not becoming another girl. Beauty is not changing every part of me. What makes me beautiful is being me.   Have you ever looked in the mirror and compared yourself to someone else? What part of this poem resonated with you the most? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments. Photo credit: Kampus Production via Pexels.    

  We speak so highly of goodbyes, as though one final conversation could soften the weight of forever. They say the hardest part is never getting to say goodbye. But I wonder— Would goodbye have hurt any less? A lover walks away. One last conversation. One last embrace. But does heartbreak become lighter? A daughter loses her mother. She wasn't there to hear the last breath. But would being there have made the silence less loud? Maybe the pain was never in the goodbye. Maybe goodbye was only a moment. Living without them is what lasts.     What do you think? Is the hardest part saying goodbye, or living without the people we love? Share your thoughts in the comments. Featured Image:  AI-generated.

  I hear it. I hear it slowly. The quiet whispers, The loud "You're not enough"  voices. I see it. I see it clearly. The cracks they leave behind, The mirror they try to fog. I know it. I know it truly. The power of self-love, The truth behind self-respect. And I choose it. I choose it dearly. The fountain of self-esteem, The freedom of knowing my worth. Because no voice Should ever be louder Than the one that reminds me... I am enough.   Sometimes the loudest battles are the ones we fight within ourselves. "I Choose Me" is a reminder that choosing yourself isn't selfish—it's an act of courage. What line spoke to you the most? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Photo Credit: Pexels  

If only you hadn't cheated on me, I would have loved you till eternity, Never caring what people thought, Willing to sacrifice everything just to be with you. Maybe I would have forgiven you if it had been a stranger. Actually... I would have forgiven you. But why did it have to be her? Of every girl in the world, why her? I still love you, But we don't have to be together.   What do you think? Can love survive betrayal, or is some heartbreak impossible to forgive? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Photo by Emmanuel Codden on Pexels.