Requiem For A Mother-In-Law Gone Too Soon – Part 5

Maafio,
gradually,
the night
is drawing near,
time is fast
approaching,
and soon,
there shall be
a Mosaic
parting of
the waters…
a permanent
parting
of ways,
when you shall
forever
be seen
no more
by those
you so
dearly loved…
for now,
your remains
are like
banana peels,
witness
to the fact
of your having
once
been
this way;
like fast-fading
footprints
in the sand…
still,
memories
of your presence
are deeply etched
underneath
our skulls,
deeply etched
within our minds,
like ruts
and wadis
cut deep
into the skin
of our earths
and the Earth…
the sky too
and the sun
and the moon
and the stars
have all been
witness
to your presence
and painful passing,
like a storm-uprooted
year-tree
that was always
a part
of our lives
from the beginning
of time,
the possibility
of whose absence
we never dreamed
would dawn
so soon –
Maafio,
the children
are asking
for you,
Maafio,
Yaw Sintim
and
Kwame ’Koampa
want to know
just how long
you shall be gone
and just when
you shall be back
with us
this way
once more…
the sky
is deeply
overcast,
God must be
heavy-hearted
to the core;
and yet,
there could just
as well be
jollying
and merry-making
in Heaven
from whence
you came
and to where
you have
returned –
I still see
that knowing glint
in your eyes
the unspoken
fulfillment
of your wish,
that you set
eyes on me
before you calmly
closed your eyes
for that one
final time,
breathed in
deeply
that great sigh
of relief
that lasted
far into
the night
and into
time
without
bounds –
10/28/18

Author: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr.

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