Audrey Varaidzo

“You teach your daughters
how to rub poison on their skin
remember
to teach your sons
how not to be serpents.”
― Ijeoma Umebinyuo, Questions for Ada

“Contemplating while barefoot on the grounds my father and grandfather walked, I saw my life clearly. With African sun nibbling on my dark skin and gentle winds soothing my foreboding, my past life and current responsibilities overwhelmed me occasionally. Abundant tears flowed freely. Dripping on my face and clothes. Travelling through the ancient roads created by my forefathers, grasslands, trees and anthills kept me company. A lonely journey. I knew that nothing remains the same, but ones past never changes. Even in the loneliness of my past, I accepted that you cannot effectively go forward without knowing how and where you started your journey. Even in that state of near dejection I was aware that my sojourn in foreign lands is not forever, but my lording of this beautiful land, my own Africa, where my spent body will finally rest someday, is for eternity. Nothing remains the same, but nothing ever changes. It depends on how you look at your life.”
― FIDELIS O MKPARU, 2019

“The men who have accumulated great fortunes and achieved outstanding recognition in literature, art, industry, architecture, and the professions, were motivated by the influence of a woman.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich: The Original 1937 Unedited Edition

“I told the priest
my god is a black woman
he poured holy water on me
and scheduled me for an exorcism”
― Ijeoma Umebinyuo, Questions for Ada