Estella

Estella.

Oh Estella,
I thought you were stellar,
Oh What a reception,
What a deception!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

She is my mother!

She is my mother.

She might be a whore,
By the whore clothes she wore,
But she is my mother,
She might be vain,
Cocain in her vein,
Marijuana in her brain,
Hitch hiking life's train,
But she is my mother,
She might be homeless,
Because she is jobless,
But don't mess with her,
She is my mother,
She might be just another woman to you,
Just another human being in the world,
Swelling up the statistics for Aids,
Just another face in the crowd,
One more delinquent to deal with,
But don't you dare mess with her,
She is my mother,
She bore me for nine months,
Fed me and sheltered with whatever life she had,
She never gave me less than she had,
She gave me her warmth and love,
She gave me what she could,
In a silent moment of loving me,
Giving me all she had,
Right in the womb she gave me AIDS,
But don't mess with her,
She is my mother,
My imperfect mother,
Beaten and broken by circumstances of her birth,
My weak mother,
My sinful mother,
My precious mother,
She felt all the birth pangs of my birth,
And I hear I had a big head at birth,
Don't you dare mess with her,
She is my mother.

*one of the things which rings so true in my personal life with that of the young man/institution I impersonate in the poem is the love for my mother...

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Critique

Critique.

When they criticize your work,
Court a better luck,
With a better work,
The charm is hard work.


© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Smile

Smile.

A smile which charms,
A charm which disarms,
Breaks the defenses,
Drops the pretenses,
A smile which warms,
Pleasant emotion which swarms,
A smile which travels the miles,
To the heart through dangerous river niles.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Who are you?

Who are you?

I have a question for you,
Who are you?
I know you are black or white or brown,
But who are you?
Yes you are from America, Asia or Africa or Cameroon,
But who are you?
I know you are a doctor or engineer or banker,
Who are you?
Beyond the clothes and shoes,
Beyond the color of your skin and the hair you wear,
Beyond the nationality and the tribe,
Beyond the career and the job,
Deep down within,
Who are you?
What substance are you made of?
What is the fibre of your mettle?
Who are you?
What is the weight of your humanity,
The content of your love and grace,
The expression of your compassion?
Who are you?
What is it which makes your heart beat,
Makes your adrenaline rush,
What is it which keeps you grounded,
When all is breaking around you,
What is it that gives you peace,
In the midst of that heartbreaking storm,
Who are you?
Behind all the veils and the masks,
What do you do when no one watches,
The thoughts you think in the secrecy of your mind,
That is who you are!
So tell me,
Who are you?

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

I am leaving and living!

I am leaving in a moment,
I am living in the moment,
I am not living for the moment.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Too young to die!

Quench that fatally deceptive thought,
It'll make you postpone battles which you could have faught,
Go check the tolls of war,
They will make you very sore,
I have seen them die at every age,
Some without a dime to their name,
Both athletic and maimed,
Some worth a million dollars and some minimum wage,
I have seen them still at birth,
Born to mothers with plenty and mothers with dearth,
I have seen accidents sweep all ages to a massive grave,
Seen disease sweep the young in a mighty wave,
Without warning and without known cause I have seen them eternally sleep a peaceful sleep,
Leave loved ones behind and bereft to weep,
I have seen death visit the hamlet and the palace,
I have seen death visit Bafut and Wallace,
I have seen death surely fatally gnaw the begger and the rich,
I have seen death steal a young life through poisoned sandwich,
I have seen it claim a life through a serpent's sting,
But that is better than death through a traitor's sting,
Doesn't matter how pleasantly or viciously he comes,
He despises age, wealth and knowledge in tomes,
I pray you will live long enough,
But kill that deceptive thought,
Give this moment your best,
Just in case the next moment never comes,
You are not too young to die.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Another girl!

Another girl.

Canal which has seen the passage of eight female lives,
She lay there wasted from the pangs of labour,
The labor and work of child birth,
Takes a scolding for having another girl,
Hopeful anticipation of the coming of a heir,
Morphs into hateful deception,
At the reality of a contending heiress,
Foolish frown from the foolish man,
Who holds within his loins,
Power to make a female or a male,
He is spared nine months of pregnancy,
And spared a smacking,
For the scolding he now dishes out,
Which should be rightfully doled to him,
It must sting with killing ache,
To be blamed for circumstances,
Far beyond your control,
God have mercy on us.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary