Every time I want to speak
I admonish my tongue
Warn it not to say a P for an F or an F for a P
I tell it to weigh every word
And pronounce every letter
Like a midwife delivering a baby
Every time I want to speak
Fear takes hold of my being
What if my accent betrays me
And I hear people laugh at this Hausa girl who says pish and fafer
So, I look at every word that leaves my lips
As it dangles before my face
And gauge its perfection
I align all the consonants in their right angles
I speak slowly, nervously
Afraid that the amusement in their eyes
Was born from all the mistakes I make
Not anymore
Now I let the words drop in torrents
Like the first rain after an endless drought
I let them come raw, unchecked
I let the ps and the fs go wherever they wish
I let all the things I want to say shoot out of my mouth
Let the world laugh at my accent
I am what I am
I am a daughter of the North
I learned my mother’s language in her womb
And its marks were ingrained on my tongue
Long before I learned the foreign language
So here I am
Wraffed in all za shades op my accent
Wondering weza ip I sfeak wiz all za wads in za right flaces
Will I cease being a Hausa girl?
