WHO REMEMBERS?

Rejoice Bonjoru
@rejoicebonjoru247785
24 days ago

Oh, sweet memories,
A childhood filled with rollercoasters of emotions comes streaming down my consciousness.
From cradle, you begin to experience the sweet and the pepper,
Because a child is too young to experience the bitter.

One time, I sat underneath the bosom of my mother's mother,
Under the moonlight, listening to her tales of a king who married a widow's beautiful cow fat.
Or how the greedy tortoise got his rough shell.

One time, my mother eyed me through the corner of her eyes
For wanting to eat at a home we were guests,
But let me eat just as much as I wanted from strangers,
She probably never met, because it was festive season.

Who remembers the light-blinking and sounding shoes our mothers bought during Christmas?

One time, I was flogged for being careless with the money I was sent on an errand with.
I wasn't careless, in fact, I was a curious child who wanted to see if goats could eat mint.

Another time, I bought bubblegum instead of Maggi,
Because I felt bubblegum was a better choice.

Another time, I recited MTN all the way to the kiosk in my environment,
Just to end up buying Airtel.

One time, I lured my neighbor's kid to a secluded corner and knocked him on the head,
For telling me "your mother" in his mother's presence with his five left fingers spread wide apart.

One time, I used to wait for my father close to the door to return from work,
Because I knew he always brought back goodies.

When we wore the shoes our father bought from Lagos for five years,
Until we outgrew them.

When we dipped bread inside tea,
And only ate our meats, fishes, or eggs after the main meal,
Because it was uncultured to do otherwise.

When our mothers used sticks to measure our shoe sizes,
When we were 9 years old, still wearing the clothes our mothers bought when we were 3,
Because of her impeccable ability to always get quality clothes, only.

When our mothers bribed us with goodies after giving us great beatings,
When we knew better than to stay out late,
And when saliva was used to measure how long it took to get an errand.

When we dared not play in our mother's living room,
Because everything was carefully arranged.

One time, my brothers said:

One brother said, "Don't hiss, else a snake will jump out of your mouth,
And if you hiss by mistake, eat a bulb of onion."

One brother said, "The orange seed you just swallowed will spring out through your head
And break your skull."

One brother said, "If you make too much noise in the night, spirits will steal your voice."

One brother said, "A cat is so strong that it can carry a whole house on its back!"

And my sister said, "Bring your money, I'll keep it safe for you."
None of those statements were facts.
Ask me why I have trust issues now, that's why!

One time, my friends and I used to cook intercontinental dishes from scratch,
With core ingredients grass and sand.
We hopped from grass to grass, wearing the coat of bravery
Against the thoughts of dangerous creepers that might have been underneath those grasses,
Because we wanted to catch grasshoppers.

Oh, the times we used to make professional constructions from sands and sticks.
And when we went to ponds to catch baby fishes using hooks and worms.

Where the boys jumped from tree to tree, in search of little birds.

When we looked forward to Thursdays,
Because that was the day new episodes of Super Story were aired.

We looked forward to great June's and July's,
Because those were the seasons of termites and crickets,
Where neighbors became competing hunters.

And when fruits were in bloom.

Oh, sweet memories of childhood, past, but not forgotten.
I hold dear unto sweet memories of childhood in a world woven with great Africanness.

#AfricanChildhoodMemories
#poetry

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@omotayomorgan @mohammedabass484730