To My Mother
Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo
Sunday, May 11, 2008
“Because God could not be everywhere, so he made mothers.” – Jewish Proverb
Before I was a Spirit
You told the moon of me.
Before I was formed
You chose me out of the pack.
Before I was here
You were waiting for me.
That’s the miracle
Of you and I.
From the vault of our ancestors
On feathers of floating suns, I emerged
A witness to mountains long gone
Streams of souls soaked in ethereal
Carried by sandstorm of emotion
Proclaiming love
Baked in cathedrals of heaven.
From the tickled lips of the poet
Comes the unsaid truth of rivers,
Broken dreams reconnect
When little smile glows
And glows and glows
Holding the sky up above
While stretching the earth below.
If I had a rainbow
I will wrap it around you
If I had a star
I will crown you queen of my world.
On a playground of fate
Festival of dream goes on and on
I’m astonished
That you’re still pleased in me
If I haven’t celebrated you
It must be because I remained a cub poet.
You asked why it is this way
It’s because love begins with you.
Blessed is the path
Through which eternal love travels.
I’ve thought of paying you
For the breast
For the burp
For the bullwhip,
But gold in quantum wasn’t enough.
So remember the asterisk
It stands for all the things yet to come.
Happy Mothers’ Day.