NNE, LAHU N’UDO

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To the Clutches of death, I ask why?
To its receding tentacles, I ask why?
Why snatch this precious Gem so?
And tears you leave for us to sow?

Death! You leave us in pain as we remember her.
She was a mother amongst mothers,
She was a grandmother and great grandmother,
Many were the seeds she grew and nurtured.

To those brittle bones that rocked my father in his youth,
To the cracked lip that told folk tales to my father’s ears,
To those loving hands that molded my father’s life,
To those steady legs that labored so my father
And his sibling could become what they are
To that mother who lived to see her great grand children,
I say, “Thank you for living a fulfilled life.”

You may be gone but your work lives on.
One thing consoles me and I Know;
You were taken from this cruel world
Before it diminishes and tarnishes your shine.
You are a Gem that will forever be precious.
Make your journey in peace.

Adieu, Beautiful Gem.
Adieu, My Grandma
I can only say, ” Nne, Lahu n’udo.”

(In memory of my Grandma who passed on 25th March, 2013)

Written by: Verest Drian Nwafor-Nso
Edited by: Kukogho Iruesiri Samson