Elegy for my mother

Photo: JR Korpa

The children in the neighbourhood chanted your name,

Hunkering over their mats, crouching by your doorway,

Their faces beaming with joy as they waited to listen to you.

But they waited and waited.

They waited for you to brighten their faces again with colours of awe,

But for the first time, they discerned the scent of darkness

And gaggled grief like bitter herb.

Their tender cheeks wore tribal marks of tears.

How come you forgot to tell us a tale of your departure beforehand?

Today, the children still crouch by your tomb side.

As if in a playpen, they fondle the tombstones,

miming words on your epitaph,

Replaying memories of those moonlight tales, the heritage you left behind.

Titilayo!

The hedge of fire around her children's walls.

The empress of her husband's dynasty.

Though the edges of your photograph hang in tatters

The monuments you engraved on our hearts remain intact.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ayooluwa Olasupo (Imisi) is a Nigerian poet and medical doctor who resides in the South West. Her works have appeared in the Christian Literary Hub's anthology, The Shallow Tales Review Literary Magazine, Eboquills, Shuzia, Poetry Tuesday, The Apotheosis, Touch Magazine and elsewhere. She is the Editor-in-chief of the Scent and Sceptre Teen Magazine. When she's not writing, reading or attending to her medical passion, she enjoys listening to and making music, cooking; and telling children in the neighbourhood moonlight tales.