Archive | January 2016

Over fifty

Jan31

Being over fifty can be so cool
First of all, you’ve passed forty and
The world did not fall apart

Then, your children are older
And you have more time

You don’t have the anxiety of trying to figure out your life
You have accumulated some wisdom

Now that I’m over fifty I know
It’s OK to laugh out loud in a crowd
I know what I like and what I don’t like

I don’t worry as much about what other people think
I feel free to write my heart out

I’ve lived, fallen, got up and smiled
I have things to write about

I’ve discovered my passion and finally know
What I want to be when I grow up

I’ve made it through the sleepless nights
When my children were young
Now, I can go to bed before they do
And that’s alright

A wrinkle here, a wrinkle there
But who cares
Why should we be afraid of wrinkles and age spots
I think we should wear them like badges of honor and
Be proud of them like battle scars

So, all is well, all is right
I’m over fifty and even now
The world has not fallen apart
If anything I know better who I am
And what my strengths are
January 31st, 2016

Modern times

Jan30

In some places men can marry four wives
And keep a few more, on the side
I was thinking to myself
Why not give women the same right?

After all, times have really changed
Women are educated and breadwinners
One wife and four husbands can be as viable economically
As one husband and four wives

Why this change you may ask?
I say, why not?
What’s the difference between us
What makes one condition possible
And the other not?
We are living in modern times!

Now, to tell you the truth
I’m just making a point
I think one husband is more than enough
Find a good one and you’re set for life

 

I also think that men should now cover their hair
Now-a-days men’s hair can be so stylish
With new fashionable cuts, colour and highlights
I think it’s time for men to cover their hair
To keep women’s eyes off of them

And what’s all these tight pants and shirts men wear
Where is the modesty, I dare say
Flowing clothes are much better
Otherwise a coat they should wear

Now, all of this is only in good fun
But really what makes men different from us
Why the double standard and different rules
I don’t get it, l’m confused

Modern times need modern rules
We need to ask men to cover their hair
Or let women uncover them!

January 29th, 2016

Daughters

Jan30

 

Fathers and daughters have a special bond
I always felt close to my dad
And even now when his physical presence is no longer here
I still count on his support and love

I ask him for help and he responds
I know he’s aware of what’s going on
Sometimes he comes to my dreams and acts as a guide
I know that I’m still in his heart

My daughters and Albert have the same relationship
What draws them to each other, I don’t know
But there was a time when Nat would ask something
And before the sentence was done
Albert would say yes
I had asked the same thing an hour earlier
But the answer was not the same!

Albert would spend hours going over
Homework with Nat, after a long day at the office

Somehow Albert could not say no to her
Nat’s batting eyelashes did their job each time
She had her dad wrapped around her fingers
And I couldn’t figure out what her magic was

There’s something that draws on the
Heartstrings of a dad
When a request comes from his daughter
It’s as if he’s mesmerized
Mind and reason play no part!

It’s a special relationship
It’s a strong bond
One I’m happy to have experienced with my dad
Moms have the same relationship with their sons
So they need not worry and feel left out
January 30th, 2016

Africa!

Jan27

My dream trip is three weeks away
Time to get excited?
I think so!

Zambia, here I come!
To see your beautiful people
Bask in your sunshine

Here I come!
To hear your beautiful accents
And local languages
Even the names of people makes me smile

Here I come!
To see the radiant smile
On people’s faces
To see them dance
To absorb it all and store it
In a safe place in my heart

And best of all
I’ll share this experience with my daughter
What a blessing
What joy

Here I come, Africa!

 

January 27th, 2016

Dear mom

Jan23

Dear mom,
I want to thank you…

I want to thank you
For the sleepless nights you soothed me back to sleep
When I was just born
For giving up your freedom, after that, to do what you want
When you want

For giving me the best education possible
For teaching me English from early on

For being a courageous woman in your own time
For showing me that in groups women can be in charge

For the difficult days you experienced
When I first fell in love
For your support to carry on

For being a good grandmother
Keeping your grandchildren in your
Heart from afar

For all the delicious home-cooked meals
Prepared with love

For instilling in me the love of traveling
For letting me go when it was my time to fly

For all the prayers you have said
From the depth of your heart
For all the sorrows you have endured

For encouraging me in my pursuit of poetry
For understanding my love for this art

And finally, dear mom
I want to thank you simply
For being my mom!

 

January 23rd, 2016

Chill

Jan22

Do you sometimes want to break your own rules?
Eat frozen waffles for breakfast?
Take two cookies instead of one?
Heck, start the day with ice cream and pie?

Do you sometimes want to put discipline aside?
Skip grocery shopping to write?
Spend hours on Facebook and WhatsApp
Let the dirty dishes pile up?

Do you sometimes want to set caution aside
Just walk up to someone and say Hi
Laugh out loud in a quiet coffee shop?

Sometimes it’s OK to be ‘bad’ for a short time
Do what you normally would not do
As long as others are not harmed
Eat that greasy food
Arrive late
Walk out of the house with your robe de chambre

The sky won’t fall
You won’t die
The earth won’t move
Everyone will survive

So, let’s chill out once in a while
Eat food past its best before date
Walk out of the house without makeup

And perhaps then we’ll realize
No one is stopping us
No one is judging us
Except us!

 

January 22nd, 2016

Flying fish

Jan20

Have you heard of flying fish?
They have the best of both worlds, the air and the sea
They are not limited to the confines of the water
They have learned to rise about it

It seems to me that ‘can’t’ is passé
‘Let’s try’ is more relevant today

We get trapped in the world of the ‘possible’
And don’t think of delving into the ‘impossible’
Or seemingly impossible

But what limits us is our own imagination
Our own outlook on reality

Let the flying fish inspire us
The impossible can be achieved!
January 20th, 2015

A letter to my daughter

Jan13

January 11th, 2015
Dear Natalie,
My daughter, in Zambia
I’m sending you a letter
Since the Internet is not always on

You had to call us long distance
On your cell phone
And God knows how much
The roaming charges will be
But that’s what parents are for
No worries

The spiders and the beetles in your room
Have conspired against you
They keep an eye on you day and night
But perhaps you’re in their space
Not the other way around

The monkeys are cute I hear
And there are snakes around
You’d start thinking you were in Africa!

The weather is warm
And the people are warm
If that’s too much heat
I wish I could send you some snow

Natalie, dear
Enjoy your time there
You’re creating memories
That will be with you always…

Maya

Jan2

Maya wasn’t particularly beautiful
But when she walked into a room
You would notice her
With those twinkling eyes and luscious lips
Her smile lit up the room
And as soon as she started to talk
The tenor of her voice
The music of her speech
And her wisdom
Worked its magic on you

She didn’t hold back
She was not afraid
You couldn’t intimidate her if you tried
She had the courage of her convictions and
Stood up for herself
It was not easy to say no to Maya

Her childhood was rough
She stopped talking for a while
But poetry gave her back her voice
And boy, since then, has she talked

She became the voice of her generation
Uplifting so many of her countrymen
Her charisma came from the allure of her words
Maya was a phenomenal woman!

 
December 29th, 2015