If You Ask Me If God Is Real Poem by Angela Bontle Ditumiso

If you ask me if God is real
I'll tell you as a child
My much older friend gave me
A children's book about the story of Joseph
Years before he turned out to be a convicted pedophile
And when I read this book
I thought to myself,
Well this is the kind of God
I would like to acquaint myself with
But mama upon hearing about the man who gifted it to me
Threw it away and Joseph got lost in my subconscious
I'll tell you one day trouble found me and I remembered this Joseph
And how God came through for him
Leading me to my first prayer
Which gave way to my first miracle
I'll tell you this, that night so many whips landed on my back
And I didn't feel a thing
And that is how I know God is real

I'll tell you
When I was younger
I'd go to church every Sunday
With this kind of joy that didn't want to be hidden
All the way I'd be smiling
Once mum caught me with a smile
Stuck on my face
I told her I was happy I was going to meet God