sometimes my branches break,
my leaves drifts off and my roots quiver,
on days like this, i seek distractions,
a fleeting euphoria from the bitter pills of reality,
i bury my eyes in moving pictures and jump on every train of messages,
i run out of energy after sacrificing my attention to the console,
i call distant friends and mourn about the identical days,
attention robs me of my priorities and my dreams fade behind tinted smiles,
until the sun dances and the moon comes cleaning up the sweat off our bodies,
then i run, trudge, and crawl to my mother's shop,
she is always sitting, ruling the spatula over the pan and noodles,
i sleep on the bench beside her,
it is only in this envelope of discussion that we set ourselves free from the hurdles of distance,
we insult, laugh, smile and make fun of the world that is not us,
and then she lets me sit and watch the stars
until the pieces of my destiny forms a memory with the running clouds and distant stars
i reminisce about my life and the ones i lived before this one,
i lie on my back until the mosquito bite burns,
watching my mother rule the spatula and bend the meal to her will,
the centre of worlds,
a goddess of words and will,
the deity that formed and created my will,
she sits, ruling and listening,
her first son, obehi,
the one who says less than he intends,
who does not allow his burden scrunch his face,
i stand up and walk away,
but not without speaking,
anything important or inconsequential,
whatever she says, i give a reply and more,
until my words wraps her in the embrace i always fail to give
no matter what,
i want to have the last word
so that a piece of me will forever stay with her, never leaving her presence.
Festus Obehi Destiny.
Mummy.
For My mother and my best friend, Glory.