Mother May I
Mother May I sit on thy laps as you tell me tales of thy past life?
At night when the time is right and the moon is ripe
When fire flies dance and the fire glistens like beads of sweat
A tale of our ancestors, of our traditions and your mother’s mother
Of our customs and beliefs and the gods you were made to know
The young ladies swimming in the river as the boys hid to watch, they hid to watch
I’ll listen closely as you talk in that soft sweet voice that makes the winds sing and the trees clap their hands
Of how you rose from the ashes, in the backyard of a village known for its gift of women
How you toiled in the village in farms and plantations, carrying cassava and fire wood on thy glorious head as you trekked for miles and miles
To sell for a penny and a dime, bare feet, under the sun, in the rain not thinking of the now but of the future.
You were trained to wake up at dawn before the chickens shouted, before the birds sang
You were cultured to be submissive to thy elders. To listen without talking and obey before complaining
Those who raised you might have hurt you, bent your back in half twisted your fate inside and out
They called it discipline but you knew better
From a one star woman you began your journey through life, hating the statuesque
Toiling every day to break the leash
You fell along the way but you added a star to your crown each time you got up and tried again
Mother may I be just like you, I would like to be just like you.
You who met daddy in the motor park and made a noble man out of him
We see the way you love daddy, the right way a wife should love her husband.
You who birthed six children but is a mother of many nations
You who only dreamed of a better days and now has better days.
Mother May I call you a mentor?
How you take each and everyone’s dream in your hands and nurture them
You look at and for the best in people
You are never a pessimist because God took his time with you mama. He took his time
Behind the leaves of a garden, from the ribs of a man who was put to sleep by God eve was made.
You were made to be better than her, nothing sways you mama. Not an apple, not the whole tree.
They don’t know what we know and are blind to what we see.
They question, doubt and take for granted a five star woman who has caused her husband to be praised at the gate
Who has taken after the ant gathering for rainy days.
I know your dreams, I’ve read them I see them every time I look into your beautiful eyes mama
You never have to worry mama because the stone which the builder rejected will forever become the corner stone.
You are the crème de la crème
You put the grace in gracious
Mama may I sit on thy lap and be a child one more time
Be a child one last time
Be your child for all time?
- -Ayamba
