Ashley, I Complain Poem by Job Ombati

Dear Ashley,

It's rare for a man
to complain,
more so to his mother-in-law.
It's abominable
to arrive unceremoniously
at a mother-in-law's home,
unaccompanied
and spill his troubles.

Ashley, dear,

Knowing my roots,
it's rare— unheard of—
for a son to face a mother-in-law—
in the absence
of his father
and In-laws.
It takes away all dignity
and exposes a son to scandal.

Ashley, dear,

I have cried a lot—
in the cold cells of my heart,
suffered silently
— deep in the night of my thoughts,
whined a lot—
to myself,
and not to my buddies.

Dear Ashley,

I now come open.
I straighten out my heart's creases,
and face my mother-in-law.
She too is a mother,
and will hear me out,
understand me,
and judge you wrong.

She will be
a mother,
the brothers-in-law, I never had,
and father-in-law, I never knew.

She will hear me out,
feel my wounds,
and judge you wrong.

© Poems for Humanity
[Tuesday,14 July 2026: 9: 18 pm - Nairobi]