Katoucha
Out of Africa come tall dark beauties..
And you were one Katoucha
Of the Fula
.... the scent of the hibiscus and the ylang ylang tree
Reached you with such hypnotic beauty
It set you on a path of elegance for life.
A pioneering black cat-walker
With inner demons born from fatal days
...and that golden skin..
You embodied arrogance
That kind of femininity you most admired
And as a feline mover
Your eyes forever amber
Slipped around the world
In dignity....
....always remembering the pain
That never left you....the rape at only 10
The blade that cut you up
..the hand that stitched you
But all of this
Did not diminish you...
You covered up your pain in style.
Katoucha ... fighter !
Katoucha ... ‘contra l’excision’ !
Katoucha ....stood up..spoke out against
The horror of clitoral mutilation !
I did not know you but I sense your life
And I can only wonder at how
A form of miracle unfolded
The Fula girl became exotic queen....
But all the while that one great joy was stolen
That ecstasy a woman knows in private
I can’t imagine life without it.
You slipped into the Seine...
As a dying mermaid eternity began
Your being taken by the river
Compounds the mystery
That was Katoucha.
Kristine Byrne Oct 23/24 2 013