<body><div class="booster-block booster-read-block">
 <div class="twp-read-time">
 	<i class="booster-icon twp-clock"></i> <span>Read Time:</span>1 Minute, 2 Second </div>

 </div><p></p><figure id="attachment_7020" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-7020" style="width: 380px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://wordsrhymesandrhythm.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/mamas-banga-soup.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-7020" alt="Mama's Banga Soup" src="http://wordsrhymesandrhythm.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/mamas-banga-soup.png" width="380" height="336" loading="lazy"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-7020" class="wp-caption-text">www.facebook.com/WRRPoetry<strong> [Mama’s Banga Soup]</strong></figcaption></figure><strong>How joyful a boy I am</strong><br>
When I eat Banga <a class="zem_slink" title="Soup" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup" target="_blank" rel="wikipedia">soup</a> with pounded yam;
<p>When Mama appears from the market<br>
With her palm <a class="zem_slink" title="Fruit" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit" target="_blank" rel="wikipedia">fruit</a>-filled basket<br>
How cleverly she prepares the <a class="zem_slink" title="Chicken" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken" target="_blank" rel="wikipedia">chicken</a><br>
And chops up the <a class="zem_slink" title="Pumpkin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin" target="_blank" rel="wikipedia">pumpkin</a> leaves</p>
<p>As she washes to cook the palm nuts,<br>
I make ready the cooking pots;<br>
She boils them till they’re done<br>
And their hardness be gone</p>
<p>I help do the pounding<br>
Making oily pulp, while the chicken is cooking<br>
The oil, from the pulp, in the mortar<br>
She extracts with warm water</p>
<p>She sieve it<br>
So the fruit fibres will not infiltrate;<br>
It is the oil that Mama will use<br>
In making Banga stew!</p>
<p>The fruit oil, she will cook<br>
With the burner at high heat<br>
Then add chicken, salt, stock and dry fish;<br>
With Knorr, onion, pepper and crayfish</p>
<p>The pumpkin leaves – in tiny pieces<br>
She adds. The soup is done in few minutes<br>
With the pounded yam, already made by me;<br>
The food is the ready!</p>
<p>With watering mouth<br>
And a yearning stomach<br>
My jaws and hands<br>
Await the moment to attack</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><em>Written by: Kingsley U. Ayistar</em><br>
<em>Edited by: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson</em><em></em></p>
<p></p>
 
 <div class="booster-block booster-author-block">
 <div class="be-author-details layout-square align-left">
 <div class="be-author-wrapper">
 <div class="booster-row">
 <div class="booster-column booster-column-two booster-column-mobile">
 <div class="be-author-image">
 <img alt="" src="https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bf79f4fc8f947fbe1fb74dc686556e6a6f4c1bf646b3cb4f66ed547aadf536df?s=400&;d=mm&;r=g" class="avatar avatar-400 photo avatar-img" height="400" width="400" loading="lazy"> </div>
 </div>
 <div class="booster-column booster-column-eight booster-column-mobile">
 <div class="author-details">
 <header class="twp-plugin-title twp-author-title">
 <h2>About Post Author</h2>
 </header>
 <h4 class="be-author-meta be-author-name">
 <a href="https://www.wrr.ng/author/ayistar/" class="booster-url-link">
 Kingsley U. Ayistar </a>
 </h4>
 <div class="be-author-meta be-author-description">Ukpanyang Kingsley Ayi alias "Ayistar" is a 500 Level medical student of the prestigious University of Calabar Teaching Hospital. Born in the early 90s, he hails from Odukpani Local Government area of Cross River State. He is a Christian, a lover of words and writes for edification and motivation. He believes that "Talents and Gifts are tools for building our God-given dreams into reality." Though without an award yet, his works has been published in several poetry anthologies like Via Grapevine II, Epistle of Lies etc, and other poetry sites online.</div>
 <div class="be-author-meta be-author-email">
 <a href="mailto:%20ayistar@yahoo.com" class="booster-url-link">
 <span class="booster-svg-icon booster-svg-envelope"><svg class="booster-svg" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewbox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24"><path fill="currentColor" d="M0 3v18h24v-18h-24zm6.623 7.929l-4.623 5.712v-9.458l4.623 3.746zm-4.141-5.929h19.035l-9.517 7.713-9.518-7.713zm5.694 7.188l3.824 3.099 3.83-3.104 5.612 6.817h-18.779l5.513-6.812zm9.208-1.264l4.616-3.741v9.348l-4.616-5.607z"></path></svg></span>ayistar@yahoo.com </a>
 </div>
 </div>
 <div class="be-author-profiles">
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </body>