Where I am from

This is the story of a place that hurt me…
and still couldn’t stop me

I come from a place where dreams were often whispered, 

"Too loud".

And life might punish you for daring to hope. 

A place where generator hums louder than ambition. 

And yet, I dreamt. 

Like Joseph, 

No coat of many colours but I wear grace. 

Tables turn, 

Ask pharaoh how a prisoner became a prime. 

Where I am from is not just a place,

It is a pulse. 

With every heartbeat felt, 

And every step? Bold.

The ground that hurt me, 

Also taught me to fly, to soar, and to dive without warning. 

What do you call a child born into brokenness but refuses to shatter. 

Each dream, each step is just a phase for me to level up, 

I level up once, twice and then three times. 

I was taught to swallow pain and spit purpose. 

Because where I am from, 

I survive not because it's easy, 

But because giving up is not coded in my DNA. 

From patching dreams with broken crayons, 

To painting future with bold strokes. 

Here, the struggle has swag, 

And the ghetto births greatness! 

Rita Sani