AloneTK:
(Excerpt from Echoes: Voices From The Market Square by Tola Kolade)
A GIFT OF MANY YEARS
I cursed the day you were born
Swore never to heal
Bittered by the injustice of Olodumare
Who gifted me with a limp manhood
The loose flesh that planted you in her
I swore never to heal
For your stay would only be a short while
And my labour on you would be reaped my him, from a different clan
A masquerade in the guise of an In-law
Seasons from now,
When my limbs are weak
And my back bent
Too tired to dig out the planted yams
Or patch the leaking roofs
Who will fill the vacuum?
I am a man, only in sight
With large farmlands tilled to no end
Watered with my salty sweat
And favoured by the gods with barns filled with tubers big as a newborn.
I am bittered and I swore never to love you
For you came a female
When I should have had a son.
***
Many a season have gone
My limbs weaker than I thought they would be
Still my farm thrives
My aching back rubbed back to life
I eat my words Awele
Awelewa Obinrin
My dear child
The strong woman with the strength of many
You have overlooked my hatred for you and the many years of neglect
For foolishness has no barrier
May the gods be praised for the gift of many years
You came a daughter when I truly deserved one This is a beauty. A lovely piece. Simple with good dictions, and can be analyzed. |