Poetry

Roots

“All my life, people have asked me to choose between

my ethnic background
and the country I was born in
and every time I’d look at them
with great confusing:
I didn’t understand

why it was so important to them
and now I realize that they try to lock me
in a black and white world,
whereas I see the world in colours
self-pity is something that never once
crossed my mind
in fact

I pity people that live with the idea,
that everybody has to be the same
to me, that’s just so lame.

So today I celebrate my roots,
without forgetting or neglecting
my birth country
the courage of my North African ancestors
inspires and motivates me
to dream, strive and achieve
and respect all humans,
because at the end of the day,
we’re all connected in some way.

This feeds my passion
and pushes me further.
I’m an Amazigh princess,
that will never be content with less
privileged and proud to say,
that I get to have the best of both worlds

I fight battles with two kinds of swords.”

Chaimae Bouzagaoui (@memoirsofamoroccan on Instagram)