The Legacy

The Legacy Teenaged girl of only eighteen years she was when Hastily betrothed to a man who was twice her age then By parents who were overwhelmed with fear and worry About four daughters who they had to send off to marry My Mother, she was the eldest of the four sisters With the responsibilities to care for even her brothers From early childhood she learnt the wearisome ropes Which proved opportune training for her in future to cope With a foreboding dad and a frail mum such as theirs She had very little option but to take the reins in her cares Persistence, sacrifice, self-denial were on the top of the list Cleaning pots and pans in comparison was the very least The man she was betrothed to had neither status nor treasure His assets being mainly kindness and love in great measure With the little money honestly earned, toiling together Bonding and building each other, in preparation for a future My mother was a self-taught seamstress and dad a talented tailor When the days’ earning weren’t enough, they burnt the midnight oil together Amidst complains and criticisms they humbly took their stride In delivering their goods to satisfy their customers with pride Their nest now filled with warmth of their love and happiness Together they looked forward to God given marital bliss One by one their off springs then came along To dwell in this place called home, for years, to belong The little that they owned in material worth Became even less but we for sure, added to their mirth Never a day went by when we were in want Cause their love was abundant and that’s all we cared about The Legacy they left was not diamonds nor pearls But virtues and values which would hold us up in coming years And the lessons we learnt over the hard times we went through Helped build our characters, in retrospection I view They taught us to love and care for each other And also those less fortunate, who we ought to call ‘sister ‘or ‘brother’ Share whatever you have they would kind-heartedly say God is watching and will send fresh blessings your way So mum and dad though you are not here anymore In spirit your constant presence surrounds us, your Legacy is right here The three children you have raised are mirroring your ways Mum, you always said, “It is God’s guiding hand in the first place”.