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Requiem For A Mother-In-Law Gone Too Soon (1)
She waited and
waited long enough
for me
to ford
the rolling
waves;
then she heaved
a deep sigh
of relief
and gave up
the ghost,
which is what
we all
really are
who call ourselves
the living
and alive –
she wanted
to give me
the best gift
of life,
a prime
piece of land
on which
to break sweat
tend and reap
the victuals
of life
and
health…
that was all
she had hoped for
in life which
she lived long
enough past
the divinely decreed
three-score
and ten,
just two shy
of the minimum
of grace…
which was perfectly
in synch
with her
birthname
of Grace,
which was also
the birthname
of my mother’s
mom,
which made
my mother-in-law
my birthmother
as well,
when one stops,
carefully,
and clearly
to think
about
the same –
she waited
for me
to arrive from
overseas
for fourteen years
at sixty-four,
about the same
number of years
my birthmother
lived,
fourteen years
more than
my birthmother
whose kid and
twin-sister
had expired
at three…
so,
in a real sense,
mother-in-law
was also
my mother’s twin;
yes,
in many more
respects
than not,
they were one
and the same;
in all respects,
a mirror
and its image,
image
of the well-examined
life,
which was most
meaningful
as well
as it had been
lived…
my mother-in-law
who waited for
fourteen long years
before we
finally met
and bearhugged
like the long-lost
son who had
finally found
his way
back home
again;
this modest
down-to-earth
home, which
nevertheless,
was the best
of homes…
my mother-in-law,
she waited for
fourteen long years
before we finally
met and
bearhugged
like teddy bears;
I,
the long lost
son,
prodigal,
who had
finally
found his way
back home,
again,
to our modest
down-to-earth
home
and the best
home
of all
homes,
in spite
of the bashful
looks
of its
walls…
my dear
mother-in-law,
she waited
and waited
for me
fourteen
long years,
and then
fourteen weeks
later,
she was gone
for good…
10/13/18
Author: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr.
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