Ingqumbo Yomthondo Kukuzika Kohlanga - Thorn of the Rose is a publication of my MA in Creative Writing thesis. rnIt is a collection of poetry that looks at womanhood through the lens of a woman who, because of her patriarchal upbringing (through Christian religion and isiXhosa culture), struggles with self, intimacy, and the world in general. It explores themes of Gender Based Violence, intimacy (or lack thereof), and black womanhood in the crevices of the two institutions that shaped her.