A Different Bush

In the poem and series called I visited a different bush, Pamela re-imagines the practice of ‘visiting the bush’ (process of labia elongation done in Bantu tribe in central Uganda) in a contemporary lense. Pamela imagines a more wholistic practice that teaches women multi-faceted secrets about womanhood.

“I visited a different bush
Here they prioritize me

My feelings
My desire
My pleasure

They taught me to discover

To explore
To enjoy
Myself

I visited a different bush
In the tall dark grasses
I was encouraged to see
To see everything I could become

A lawyer
A teacher
An astrophysicist
There were no limits

I visited a different bush
In cool waters of the river
They asked me to see my body

Look at it
Appreciate it
And love it
Feed it right
Dress it right

And to remember that if it feels right,

It’s probably right

I visited a different bush
On the flat Riverside banks
We sat and listened

Listened attentively to our elders
As they shared about money

When to have
And to hold

And never shy away from it

I visited a different bush

The songs we composed for our loves

Came from a real place

Not the stuff we were taught to keen as we faked orgasms

The sisters gave us signs
To tell when it was time

To intervene
To speak up
To leave
To return
To stay

I visited a different bush
Where they taught me to be me”