Mama

We weren't supposed to be here but you made us stay.
You put food on the table.
You put clothes on our back.
You kept us off the streets.
You made us get an education.
You beat sense into us.
You made us responsible.
You sacrificed for us so we could have a comfortable childhood.
You slept on an empty stomach so we could eat.
You walked miles to get help for us.
You spent countless days crying in bed when we couldn't listen to you.
You tried so hard to give us the love you never received as a child.
You held us together even when you were a young widow, heavily pregnant, afraid and in need
of a shoulder to lean on.
You choose us over the world mama,
but I am ashamed to say that we never saw it back then.
We hurt you.
We often times ignored your pain,
but you still believed in us.
Even when the world told us we were all a mistake,
You believed in us.
Even when they told me that the only option I had left was to drop out of school and get a
baby,
You believed in us.
Even when we stayed at home, our stomachs empty and our hearts heavy, You believed in us.
Even when we slept on the floor with no bed to call ours,
You believed in us.
Even when it was so obvious that we were the poor kids with old uniforms and battered shoes,
You believed in us.
You nurtured our dreams.
You opened up our eyes.
You challenged our reality.
You made us see beyond the horizon.
You dared us to dream bigger.
To go for things way bigger than our imagination.
Everything that is us today,
It's because of you Mama.
We are forever indebted to you.
You made us.
You made us be people.
You are the real MVP.
© NYAR AFRIKA 2017.

By Beryl Opiyo.