I Became My Own Teacher

By Mirrors

I was raised where the cattle roam free,
In a village where we sat under trees
Taught to be quiet, taught to obey,
Told who to be but not what to say.

I smiled through the rules and the Sunday dress,
But inside me was chaos, longing, and stress.
A girl who could feel more than she spoke,
Who read through her pain so she wouldn’t choke.

They called it strength when I buried my truth,
Masked my fire with religion and youth.
Studied what pleased them, gave what I could,
Wore duty like chains…like a “good girl” should.

But the mirror cracked when life fell apart,
My mother’s home burned, and so did my heart.
Alone with my thoughts, I finally could see….
That one was coming to rescue me.

So I turned inward, slow but sure,
Walked through the pain I used to endure.
Each poem a prayer, each breath a release,
I traded the hustle for inner peace.

Now I rise with rhythm, soft and bold,
A woman no longer doing what she’s told.
And if you hear your story in mine,
Know healing arrives in its own design.

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Mirrors is a multidisciplinary creative, poet, and nurse from Masunga, Botswana. She began
writing poetry in 2022 as a form of emotional release, rooted in her journey of healing,
awakening, and cultural remembrance. With over 15 years of nursing experience, including a
decade in psychiatric healthcare, her creative work is deeply informed by the resilience,
struggles, and transformations she has witnessed in others and within herself.

Her poetry speaks to the sacred, the silenced, and the self-rediscovered, guiding readers toward inner peace and self-remembrance. In 2025, she founded The House of Mirrors Creative Media Pty Ltd, a platform for storytelling, publishing, and self expression.

Her recent achievements include being long-listed for the 2025 Asian Prize for Poetry with her
poem “The Earth Won’t Wait,” and contributing to the forthcoming anthology, Who We Be!
Global Black Women’s Creative Anthology with her poem “A Call To The Feminine”.

Through her work, Mirrors offers art that is both medicine and mirror.

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