Unremarkable

I move within your shadow,
nurturing your body, your spirit and your thoughts,
plucking, arranging, tending the fragments of your being.
Gently, thoughtfully, yielding,
I nourish your fantasies.

Your gaze brushes past me fleetingly,
sliding contentedly through the space I inhabit.
My body cries out:
Do you see me?
Who am I to you?
Yet no sound escapes,
no word releases me from the thoughts
that wander beneath my skin.
Unspoken truths
tug at my core,
revealing buried realities.

My existence flows through every moment of yours.
I am the hand that lifts you,
the breath that helps you thrive.
My ability fuels the light you radiate.

How long can a shadow linger
before the light seeks it?

How long can a soul cry out
before it shatters the silence?

How long can I exist
without truly being?

Melanelle B. C. Hémêfa

As a Créatrice Melanelle B. C. Hémêfa (elle/she/sie) is an author, spoken word artist, lecturer, consultant and curator who merges interdisciplinary approaches and intersectional perspectives. Her calling lies in writing and speaking, with a focus on topics such as Afro-diasporic life and creation, mental health, emotional literacy and inclusive structures. She has been bringing her expertise to projects, organizations and stages since 2020. She speaks, thinks and loves in Ewe, French, German and English.

Instagram: melanelle.hemefa

Video statement by Melanelle B. C. Hémêfa on Joseph Vernet: Greek Lady at her Toilet, 1755 supported by the ‘Weiterkommen!’ programme of Zentrum für Kulturelle Teilhabe Baden-Württemberg.