EMOTIONAL SCAR BY MASENKANE NAHANO

GENRE: POETRY
TITLE: EMOTIONAL SCAR
WRITER: MASENKANE NAHANO, LESOTHO
REVIEWER: SESAME MOOKODI, BOTSWANA

Victory comes at costs that are often overlooked. Sacrifices made for an ultimate goal carry a pain that most prefer to ignore despite that pain contributing to the ultimate goal.

This lyrical anaphora begins with the line that describes the confliction of strength gained from trauma.

Unbeautiful truth (S1,L3) could be seen as a metaphor for coping mechanisms as the writer states that this is where her strength lies and scar (S1, L5) could be a metaphor for the trauma.

In stanza two, we delve into what was lost along the way to victory. The persona is given an unapologetic nature with regards to overcoming her trials and this nature may be the reason that she did.

The repetition of the line emphasizes the point the writer is trying to make all whilst having a slightly deeper meaning in each stanza.

In stanza three, another type of skin imperfection is used instead of the scar to represent the imperfections we all have as human beings, both physical and internal. These imperfections connected to a healing and strength. This healing is further depicted by the fading of bruises (S4,L2), a physical manifestation of the healing which is more evident because of its visibility.

The poem ends by introducing the joy that comes with the victory and the beauty that comes with overcoming adversity.