Helen Oyibo Onojovwo [ For Your Self Denials, Which Has Made Me What I Am ]
Three decades ago
When you thought
You where going have me
From dad, you faced persecution
And I thought you where
Going to murder me.
,
Two decades ago
When you had me
And it seemed the world
Was coming down on you,
From dad you faced persecution
And I thought you where
Going to abandon me.
.
Years ago when I was goin
To be a man
And the burden was becoming
Too great for you alone,
Me and my sisters,
On your shoulders alone.
And I thought you were going
To give up on us.
But yet, you did not
In your greatest suffering
You never left us to suffer alone,
In your greatest need,
You did not sell us out
Instead you gave us life
And kept us alive
My lioness!
If I were to be born again
I would come through you
You had been more than a father
A mother, a brother, and a sister
All put together
And I'm always proud,
To call you my mother.
poem by Efe Benjamin
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Rednecks unite!
My father is my brother
My sister, with three ears,
Is his significant other.
My sister is my mother
And somehow, also my brother
My father's father am I
The vile thought makes me shudder.
Grandma was a mule,
Grandfather's sperm, she used as fuel
A french aristrocrat,
Made love to my mother, for he prefered his women fat
A letter written for my eyes
Containing news of demine
Said my true mother was some other
And my father, not her brother.
Jubilant and joyous,
My wife is what used to by my sister.. Or brother?
poem by Thy Mother
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My Father's Persistence
Was there rain coming down that day?
I really can't remember.
My mother says it was cold and dreary
on that day in December.
Was I welcomed onto this earth
as I took my first breath in?
My father wanted a boy to raise.
Should I have stayed where I had been?
Gradually he accepted a little girl
and held me on his knee.
He played LP records for hours
and I inhaled the harmony.
My mother says he was obsessed with this
and thought I should be left alone.
But his persistence through my first two years
paid off with each new tone.
By age four I was playing the piano
and my father praised God.
My mother was surprised I guess.
But she thought me rather odd.
My happiest childhood memories
was playing whatever I'd heard.
My father was deliriously happy.
My mother thought it absurd.
Most of my youth went so fast.
Most of it I can't remember,
just like the part about rain coming down
on that cold dreary day in December.
But the thing I remember the most now
was my father's pride and joy
that I was born a girl instead of a baby boy.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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0357 On not thinking about people you thought you loved
I’d been reading some poems with
– for the first time in my life that I remember –
‘a lump in my throat’; and a pricking in my eyes,
and a sense of the awesome power of that poet
and of poetry itself; and self-criticism
mixed up with envy, wishing I had
that sort of poetic power myself;
and it seemed to call for some sort of
formal acknowledgement of this,
some ritual of gratitude – not necessarily
the darkened room, the candle swaying gently,
the kneeling – but something inner that
was beyond selfishness, some worthy
sacrifice, surrender.
Perhaps, I thought, the thought
of that would have to suffice.
Then quite out of the blue – or so it seemed, but maybe not –
came this painful thought:
that never for a single moment – a single moment! –
in my life, had I ever given thought
to what my mother was like, living her life
before I was born
and I was overcome, stunned, appalled,
at the hugeness of my selfishness,
the smallness of my self-centred world
that I, who pride myself on my imagination,
lacked the imagination even to think of those I love and loved
as existing without me in the picture…
of course, there are photographs –
studio portraits, snaps,
solemn-faced groups with hockey sticks;
the pride of motherhood;
and yet I’d looked at all those without
really thinking of her being her;
but, where to start? The young girl
as her life slowly formed around her?
the teenage dreams; the hopes of marriage;
of giving a loving husband
the greatest living present she could give, and then
the two miscarriages before I arrived
to strut about my centre-stage?
It didn’t work.
and so I’m left with the stark, bare fact
to ponder at my leisure:
I never for a moment thought
of my mother existing as herself
without my being there.
And I thought I loved her, totally. So much
for love’s imagination.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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The Greatest Man I Never Knew
The greatest man I never knew
Lived just down the hall
And everyday we said hello
But never touched at all
He was in his paper
I was in my room
How was I to know he thought I hung the moon
The greatest man I never knew
Came home late every night
He never had too much to say
Too much was on his mind
I never really knew him
And now it seems so sad
Everything he gave to us took all he had
Then the days turned into years
And the memories to black and white
He grew cold like an old winter wind
Blowing across my life
The greatest words I never heard
I guess Ill never hear
The man I thought could never die
Sbeen dead almost a year
He was good at business
But there was business left to do
He never said he loved me
Guess he thought I knew
song performed by by Reba Mcentire
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Brother Bill
This is the sad true story about my brother Bill
who was four years older than me.
He was born and then tossed aside by his mother
who left him to his father’s parents to raise,
then promptly disappeared out of his life forever.
My grandparents brought him up
hoping his father would take care of him
when he returned from the war.
His father also my dad returned from the war
married with another son and didn’t want to know.
They gave him a nickname in private
so no one else would know.
In private, they always called him Dopey.
My sister and I were told
our grandparents had adopted him
and he was nothing to do with us.
When my dad’s parents died in 1958 and 59
plans were made to come back to England
where my mother’s parents were still alive
and leave Bill far behind.
Then as his mother had done eighteen years before
his father abandoned him as well.
For a while, he had to live on the streets
taking handout from where ever he could.
He was arrested for vagrancy and sent to jail.
Getting out he got himself a job and began to build a life.
He got married and started a family,
until one night he came home
and found his wife in bed with another man,
and a divorce followed and he was alone again.
Then after 25 years, his job vanished
and he had to find another.
One day in 2000, he got a telephone call
and did not know whether to believe it or not.
It was a call he never thought he would ever get,
a call from his younger brother - me.
As we talked on the phone, some truths came to pass
his brother and his sister did not know about him.
They were told he had been adopted
and were nothing to do with them.
However, I had found the truth,
which incensed my mother enough to disown me.
We met one another for the first time
after forty-two years in 2001 and again in 2002.
In 2003, this sad story ends,
in the March of that year
Bill succumbed to a heart attack.
His final words were a testament to his life.
No one loved me enough to care.
The sad truth is someone did
and that someone was me.
We never had enough time together,
circumstances kept us apart,
but he was my brother
and will remain in my heart.
2 November 2009
Authors Note:
The facts are as Bill told them to me. A sad refrain to a wonderful guy who was tainted by my parents as being bad and no good. If the truth were known he was probably better than the both of them. He was a guy who would give you the shirt of his back if you needed it. My brother Bill, may he now rest in peace.
DVH - 2009
poem by David Harris
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Ode To Father And Mother
Ode to two who are valuable to me
But even so priceless is their Devotion
Ode to father Trendy and Smart
Ode to mother simple and All Caring
You Both have faced challenges countless
You confronted them with courage endless
Even You have knowledge less mother
wisdom you have is great
I always thought You were wrong about life as it is father
But I know now that you were always right where You were
this is one Ode tho two great parents
6/17/2008
poem by Nosherwan khan
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Dilema Of Going Home
Two decades now
Have I lived in America
And my mother
Calling from far away Africa,
Also my little sister
She propably was told of America
They all weap in my
dreams these days,
They want me back in Africa
To build the threshold of my father
That is far gone in decadence.
.
Home, I am coming home
To see my mothers face again
And my little sister Franscisca
She must be a woman by now.
But tell me brothers;
How could I ever go back to Africa
When I yet do not have wings for flight?
.
What would I say to the hungry
eyes of my mother, my sister?
What would I say to friends I left
behind my Africa ten years ago?
What would I say when they asked:
What have you brought for old
buddies you left behind ten years ago.
.
Ten years is long enough time
to be away from home,
And yet have nothing to show
for the labours.
poem by Efe Benjamin
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Father Spoke in Code
Father spoke in code
Mother understood.
She would cry
once he went to bed.
I never understood the code.
My sister didn't either.
As we got older, we quit
asking Mother what he said.
A feral cat claimed our yard.
It would leap the fence
when anyone appeared.
Except, of course, Father.
When he came out to walk
around the garden after supper,
the cat would sit straight up,
then rub against his leg
and look at him as if it understood
what others never could.
My sister used to say
the two of us were proof
Father and Mother
got together twice.
I told her I wasn't so certain.
I looked a lot like Mr. Brompton,
the next-door neighbor.
He used to buy us sugar cones
from the ice cream truck.
My sister, by the way, didn't look
like anyone in the family either,
but that was 40 years ago
when I last saw her.
I went away to college
and she got married.
We were never close after that.
Not even Christmas cards.
Forty years is a long time.
Now, we plan to get together
for a weekend this summer
before one of us dies.
I suggested we wait
till one of us is terminal.
What's the rush, I said.
But my wife told her
I was only kidding,
that we'll be coming
and not to make a fuss.
Burgers and hot dogs
will do just fine.
I know what Sis and I
will talk about that weekend,
the two people we'll always
have in common, no matter
how many years and miles
may lie between us.
Father and Mother have been
dead for decades now
but they're still alive in us.
I talk in code, my wife says,
and my sister cries a lot,
now that her husband's dead.
The one thing I want to know
is if my sister knows
what happened to the cat.
It knew the code,
may have had some answers.
poem by Donal Mahoney
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Then I Met You
Then I met you
Thought that Id be happy
Going to be so happy
Living life alone and never sharing anything
Thought that I was finished
Thought that I was complete
Thought that I was whole instead of being half of something
Thought that I was growing
Growing older, wiser
Understanding why this world held nothing for my spirit
Thought that I was destined
Destined to be nothing
Destined to be nothing in this world and then I met you.
I met you
Thought that God had failed me
Thought my prayers were useless
Thought that he would never give the chance for me to praise him
Thought the book was written
Thought the game had ended
Thought the song was sung and I could never sing another
Thought my faith was misplaced
Thought my back was broken
Broken by a weight that I was never fit to carry
Thought I knew this city
Thought I knew all about it
And then one night I went to morningside and you were waiting
I met you
song performed by by Proclaimers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Brother Sarah - Sway B-side
My brother sarah
Doesn't know what clothes to wear
It's a dilemma
To get the stuff to match your hair
But mother and father
Sister and brother
Say they just don't know
My brother sarah
Really wish you understood
Why he's got to show it
For it to be any damn good
But mother and father
Sister and brother
Say they just don't know
My brother lies awake at night
Wishing this world could just be right
But mother and father
Sister and brother
You and all the others
Say you just don't know
song performed by by Ocean Colour Scene
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Greatest Fear!
I have many fears
some range from big to small
here's a secret dear
my greatest fear of them all
you might think it was to die
and yes long time ago it was
but now I enjoy the thought of my death
but let me tell you now my greatest fear of them all
is to become old and older going through menopause
become sick and ill until you no longer feel,
eyes always glazed do you see heaven through your haze?
painful streaks of pain that no medicine can contain
how can you keep your fate in god
when hes giving you all this pain?
but none the less this is my greatest fear
its not the thought of dying
its just the pain of old age
I don't want to be immortal
what a pain that would be!
but see it through my eyes
as you watch your grandmother slowly die
after all these years of pain
then you can understand my fear
is not death its slowly deterioration as i get old
so id rather die at 40 yeas old, young i know
but its peaceful that thought
my greatest fear my greatest fear my number one fear of them all!
poem by Alizia Sampson
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I Thought I Was Going To Lose You
I thought that I was going to lose you
Just for a moment you looked like slipping away
And my only thought was to come with you
There was no other reason to stay
Now Im sinking in a river of happy returns
Though Im tired I can do nothing but sigh
For the greatest relief Im so thankful
As I gaze at your coming-back smile
Lord, I thought I was going to lose you
Yes, I thought I was going to lose you
song performed by by Chris Rea
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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my little sister's GONE: (
She was five when her sister left
And with her gone she felt like she experienced death
She was too young to even know what that meant
Apart for seven months is what they spent
Her older sister was her best friend
She always looked up to her
Her smile she would always lend
She witnessed drugs
Barely given a hug
Barely shown any love
And just when she lost hope
Her sister would always show up
At the most needed time
Her sister never knew it
But she always completed her inside
And then her sister would go away again
And the same thing would happen
Then suddenly her sister stopped coming around
For a better life is what she thought she had found
A better life that didn’t include her
But she never knew that every day
Her sister thought about her
She always wondered where her sister went
And why she always left without their lives together spent
One day she gotten taken away
To a family friend
And for a while she would stay
But she was still mistreated
Barely eaten
Always hit
But she never told her sister this shyt
When her sister would call
She’d say I’m okay
Cause her sisters on speaker phone
What more could she really say
Her sister always promised that she would visit
And every day she waited
Hoping she’d keep it
But then she realized she was stuck
But knew that her sister still had love
It was just hard for her to see her face
And she felt like in this world she had no place
One day her sister came for her
She went to church and looked for her
She asked where is my little sister
And they all replied GONE
That’s when I soon discovered what exactly had been done
I always promised my sister Shilah that I would come and see her
And she waited until she finally gave up
And now she’s gone and I know it’s my fault
If I had only come sooner
She would still be here
She would still know that I cared
She waited for me to keep my promise
And I did but it was too late
and now i feel dis-honest
poem by Shilesha Johnson
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Leave Me To Mother Nature
I don't want to live for to be frail and old and kept alive by pills
And taking the most unnatural drugs for to combat my many ills
Leave me to Mother Nature my fate she will decide
Since the Reaper will find us all one day from him we cannot hide.
The greatest people we know of their fame was known World wide
They loved life, their achievements great but they grew old and died
The longest human life seems brief in the eternity of time
And time outlives the artist's fame and the great poet's greatest rhyme.
With pills do not prolong my suffering of suffering set me free
Leave me to Mother Nature she knows what's best for me
Human bodily parts like an old car engine with age slowly decay
Leave me to Mother Nature when I've known my better day.
Leave me to Mother Nature of me she will take care
An ageing body as we know is beyond human repair
Us Humans like Nature's Seasons to life we come and go
But Mother Nature lives forever the only God I know.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Happy Mother's Day
O Mary, Mother of God,
You are my everlasting Mother,
You help me and protect every one of us,
Whatever it might be, unlike other;
O Mother dear,
You are my most beloved Mother,
With your two hands you did so much,
It is beyond any words thinkable.
Comfort thy O Mother,
And endeavor to do,
What is conducive to
The happiness of her heart.
O Mother, Mary
Give us all the blessings and unconditional love,
Taking care of us all the time,
Thank you so much, O Mother Mary.
Mothers around the world,
The burden and suffering you carry are so great,
They beat every Guinness Book world records made,
But you know your responsibilities have not ended yet.
Be sure to enjoy this joyous day,
For love is poured especially for you,
Cherish and remember this wonderful day,
For you all are the greatest mothers.
May God Bless All Mothers on Earth;
Happy Mother’s Day to Our Beloved mothers.
poem by Lawrence Hiung
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Daddy Please Don't Hurt Mommy
A little girl stood crying as the father beat the mother,
next to the girl stood her older sister, and older brother.
Alcohol was the demon that drove the beating hand,
the mother bruised, and sobbing cowards from the man.
Why does daddy do that thought the little girl?
Oh how I hate my father, he's the worst person in the world.
The mother now alone in the bedroom with a razor above her wrist.
'Please mommy don't do it, ' the youngest child did persist.
The father starves the mother, three days in a row,
the little girl hates her father, yet the father is too drunk to know.
Is alcohol the problem or does there exist more?
The little girl's answer comes from her sobbing mother lying hurt on the cold, hard floor.
poem by Velmar Pewee Hale Johnson
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My Mother
I thought i saw my mother
Emerging from the bric-a brac
Silent sifting through bargain rack
In search of any ornament fine
Cut price silver service
Where nobody comes to dine.
I thought i heard my mother
Call me in for tea
One summer's night when fading light
Caught me in reverie.
We sometimes talk in dreams now
That's how it has to be.
I always see my mother
At birthday and Christmas time
Her laugh and gentle smile
I reply and watch her mime
Teenager at the table
When time was on our side
Life is an endless fable
Where hopes ebb with the tide.
I thought i saw my mother
Laying in a care home bed
My sister said she was poorly
But i knew she was dead.
She didn't die that instant
The time she was so ill
she went so many months before
Then heartache broke her will
I thought i saw my mother
One clear and moonlit night
I felt her in the wind
A gentle breeze so slight
And i heard her in the morning
When birdsong reassured
We'd meet again in heaven
Our broken hearts both cured.
poem by Kevin East
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The Curse of Drugs
Truth is bold
A son is born as foretold
Joy to my world
Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice
At last a son of my own
Mom’s care the best
Nothing less but the finest
Gives the greatest
Cheers, cheers, more cheer
Exulted we were
Years to come
What has become
Of my son awesome
Applause, applause, more applause
Wonderful is he
Days pass by
Found him with alibi
Thought he’d say goodbye
Jeers, jeers, more jeer
My son is down, poisoned by drugs
As heavy as a boulder
A burden upon my shoulder
Never to surrender
Gonna fight on they say
Away with you to rehab
To keep alive
Gonna survive
But don’t dive
On your feet my boy
My God, he's dead
Yet in my nest
Thought you’re honest
Yet we need kindness
For God sake tell me
Where have we failed?
poem by Noel Horlanda
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Where's Daddy?
My mother and I were close.
And had a unique relationship.
People thought I was a mama's boy.
And I didn't mind.
Since both my mother and I,
Would laugh when we discussed this.
I remember talking before I could walk.
And when we were out together publicly,
She would say to me...
'Please Larry, do not say one word.
I don't want anyone staring at you.'
~You mean like daddy does? ~
'Exactly.'
And when I got older,
When my sister Mimmie was born...
I use to ask my mother,
~Why is she so quiet? ~
'Give her time.
She's only a few months old.'
And...
When she did get older,
And we'd all be out in public...
My mother not once told her,
To be quiet.
I tried.
But she never listened to me.
And my father?
He would just stare at us in disbelief.
~Ma?
Where's daddy? ~
'Who knows? '
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Thought
Thought, I love thought.
But not the juggling and twisting of already existent ideas
I despise that self-important game.
Thought is the welling up of unknown life into consciousness,
Thought is the testing of statements on the touchstone of consciousness,
Thought is gazing onto the face of life, and reading what can be read,
Thought is pondering over experience, and coming to conclusion.
Thought is not a trick, or an exercise, or a set of dodges,
Thought is a man in his wholeness, wholly attending.
poem by David Herbert Lawrence
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