Co-Traveller Poem by Gladys Ombati

Monday morning, chilly as usual;
A January that marked
The start of the end of a period.
Excited, and all open to making-
New friends- A gift I struggled with.

Shy soft-spoken, I chose you;
To sit next to,
I thought we had a lot in common- the smile,
One that hides a lot- behind all
The drama- that life has offered us.

Beautiful bond, as time elapsed
Our minds and reason,
All meshed and woven into one piece.
Amazing how people thought- that we
Had a common ancestor. The root of friendship.

Unexplainable ups- and downs too; we went through,
Out we came stronger,
Because we had been prepared; psychologically
That we would walk the same path- only at
Different times- and hold onto dear memories.

Loud laughter, silent cries. All is heard,
We got each other,
The back and I guess the stomach too;
A language only two of us understand- since
As of now, we are life’s co-travellers.

Gracious, grateful; explain my emotions.
As words cannot precisely
Explain what I feel. I can only thank God.
Happy that though those periods- come to an end
I still hold a dear person, a friend in you.

“Because our forever is made up of ‘nows’
And for the time I have known you, I
Am proud I have a sibling, a confidant
And true time traveller of life. I love us
And our maturity and stupidity equally.”