Letter To Mama
*LETTER TO MAMA*
Iye omo to r'ewa
Iya ni iya mi owon
I know you wonder if your prayers don't ascend to heavens
You keep asking if the promises won't come true
You're beginning to doubt the prophesies of the gods
The assurances seem like parody
You crave for me a life full of melodies
You dreamt of days it would be your time for testimonies
All these I know because you're ever alive in my memory
The promise to build a beautiful house
My vow to take you across the shores
You held my hand while we walked at sunrise
I promised the sun would never set on you under the branches
Now the sun is about to retire to its nest
And I'm yet to return from my sojourn
Every night I lay my head in bed I think of the promises unkept
Mama I know the winter is here and you need more than mere wrapper
The wind from the North washing to the East is coming
And your feet is still bare and your hair with no gear
I thought about your eyes getting red when the dust blows across with no respect
I wish I can plead with the gods to spare the trees from shedding their leaves
I'm afraid where you'll seek shelter in next summer
While I till the soil from dawn to dusk in the forsaken land
The birds bring your morning prayers to me
The chirping sparrows
tell me all your wishes
I know each line was made with hope despite the warm tears rolling your wrinkled cheek
The gods are busy shipping wealth to the far North
The priests still never cease to lay their sacrifices on the altar
With hope they chant for the gods to visit the West
While I was twenty I promised to give you grandchildren to sit round your table
Now I see how close I'm to forty so I'm thinking of making just two
I know this gives little comfort since I never brought home a woman
I'm sorry I'm just a son that hasn't brought you joy
I once hunted a crab and got bitten by a viper
Mama I'm scared to hunt again as every hole seems like a nest of snake
I know I missed some awesome souls in my days of kiss and run
The pain of the tears I once caused you still stings like a viper's venom
Beautiful and dutiful mama I have just one more promise for you
Believe me this time as this I make with my life on it
I shall be home before the death of the sun
Before the heat of the downtown roasts my feet
I shall return to my home like the prodigal son
I don't mind returning in shredded shirts or torn skin
Maybe the black eye would tell you how much I toiled in the woods
I'll return before the trees shed their leaves
I will make thatched shades from the dry leaves
If it takes half my age it is worth the price of a failed promise
Dear mama next winter isn't getting you frozen I swear on my fading honour
The kids would come soon I hope
I hope you still keep clean those colourful robes
Soon I hope to bring the bride home
She would be the one to colour my life like the roses
I have written her series of prose
I can't promise she would be an angel but I hope she's the right breed for the home
Just a little while more you shall be a grandma
I may not return with a Royce but a ride of my choice
Once more on the street it shall be all joy of your voice
Just a little time the gods would bring the wealth to the West
We have paid our dues and the gods see the sweat
Just a little patience more the clouds would be dragged off the sun
And with drums rolled out on the street
Your lost son shall return in the glamour of heroic glory
Mama just a little time more
*CONCEPTUAL FM ???*
Copyright © Olufemi Oloye | Year Posted 2020
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment