Why oh why? — Summary

Hide that pain, Wash away that stain Throw it all in a pail Don't let them see you frail.

All this hurt Going on in my heart Rooted in me like a hut On the ground strongly made of dirt.

They don't know me They don't care about me They don't see what's in me They don't appreciate me.

Why such a life? Why strike me a knife? Why make me a wife? A betrothed wife to suffering.

Just once I think they care About me, about my welfare But soon they too, can't bare And turn away leaving me bare.

Speak your mind, dear Let it out and don't fear Don't be afraid to let out a tear, Just take a breath and turn that gear.

How can I? How will I? How shall I? How would I?

You tell me to speak my mind? Don't tell me to do that, Because my mouth can not handle Half the things in my mind.

Open up my heart? What heart? I ceased having one once upon a time Now all I have is hurt.

But, do not pity me. Don't feel bad for me. When you left, When all of you left me...

You gave me time To learn and yearn for myself And I got comfortable in my loneliness Now loneliness is all I know, it has become my joy.

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Njogu_Magz's "Why oh why?" is about hiding pain and the loneliness that follows. The speaker begins by repeating advice to bury hurt and never look weak, then describes feeling unseen and unappreciated. Her suffering is rooted deep, "like a hut" made of dirt, and she even calls herself a "betrothed wife to suffering." When others urge her to open up, she pushes back: her mouth can't carry half of what her mind holds, and she says she no longer has a heart, only hurt.

The ending is the most striking part. She tells the listener not to pity her, because when everyone left, she had time to learn about herself. She grew comfortable in her solitude, until it became "my joy." The mood is raw and bitter, but the last lines leave it unsettled. Is she truly at peace, or has she simply learned to call her loneliness happiness? The poem lets us wonder.

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