For Better For Worse! Poem by Aba Radical

For better for worse!

Good people will be remembered as a blessing
But the wicked will soon be forgotten
That is the Good News Bible Version
Go and check Proverbs chapter ten verses seven
Our mothers are indeed a blessing
And so there is no way they will ever be forgotten
From the wrongs we do they teach us a lesson
Sarah was there
If you doubt ask her
She is my cousin
They beat us sometimes and if time is not taken
Ones teeth will go missing
But all was just a meaningful correction

Just because of us she had to lose her shape
So I laugh when scientist tell me we were once an ape
I tell you that our mothers are sweeter than grapes
She didn't commit abortion; and that's how come
We didn't end up in the grave

When I stand with my mother
It is obvious that I am taller
We look alike but she is not my sister
She gave birth to me; I'm her daughter
She is one of a kind and like no other
They carried us in their womb, what a wonder
Indeed our mothers are original no counter

For better and for worse
to love and to cherish
She let me stay in her for nine months
Because of me her sister is now an aunt
She protected me from all creatures
Great and small including rats,
‘beela' and ants
Every night she sung a lullaby no rants
Nine months ‘akwantuo kuwer' what a stunt

For better for worse
These are vows expressed in words
That couples share before they become newly weds
The worse comes and they are looking for a divorce
But my mother's "for better for worse"
It stood the test of time
It was a mutual feeling without any remorse
From the early morning spit
to the change in her complexion
Her feet got swollen and her heels turned white
But still full of determination
Her palms looked pale, it wasn't a curse
She also gained some weight,
As for that one -‘mpo dier ɛsheegbeyee' - no fears
Her veins stood out most of the time
But she still didn't mind

But it didn't end there
She gave birth to me in Ghana right here
She bath and carved my skull, ‘ɔmpɛ December head'
Every month she took me for post natal care
And never did she forget to comb my hair

For better and for worse
In sickness and in health
Do you remember the six childhood killer diseases?
They protected us from them
Polio and whooping cough
Tuberculosis and diphtheria
Measles and tetanus
When we come to the local ones
‘ɛkorɔ, ahokeka, pompɔ
atiridii, tipaeɛ, ahotutuo,
ɛtwerɛ kooko, nkwoe,
ntobro, and krotwa'
And please not forgetting the
‘nansoɔbɛn, nkronsankrosa, santwele,
dwibaadwibaa, krodoso, kakawirewire,
nsaa ne nantam aprɔprɔ'

They are for better for worse
For richer and for poorer
When we got our first A's and graduated from kindergarten
Then we moved to our B.E.C.E
W.A.E.C has chopped her money but
She still allowed us to move on to W.A.S.S.C.E
And when we shamefully failed
She enrolled
Us for remedial - for N.O.V.D.E.C
Please don't forget our childhood days ‘our day'- vacation party
When we woke up at dawn
Perfumed rice
‘Ho pampan' accompanied by
‘Akoko nsa', when she is done she adds
Coke, Fanta and fried eggs

Eii our mothers have done a lot for us
What a powerful ‘distin'
They have also been there with us right from day one
From our first foot step to the walk down the isle

They, mothers take us,
Stubborn- ‘asuɔden' fragile and naïve children
To be their sweet burden
To train and nurture
To be their biologically
And sometimes only
Mutually wedded partners
As long as we shall both live
From stealing fish
In the soup pot to bed-wetting
In joy and in sorrow
From failing our exam to
Writing N.O.V.D.E.C. three times
In sickness and in health
From ‘dwibaadwibaa' to chicken pox
As long as we both shall live
As soon as we are born
From that day forward
For richer and for poorer
From chop bar, to her food to Kempinski and Papaye
To love and to cherish
Till death do us path
For better and for worse!

NB: ‘beela'- huge rat
‘akwantuo kuwer'- journey wow
‘ɔmpɛ December head -dislikes big head
Stanza 7, line 9-12+14-16- list of skin diseases in Twi
‘B.E.C.E'- Basic Education Certificate Examination
‘W.A.E.C'- West African Examination Certificate
‘W.A.S.S.C.E- West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination
‘N.O.V.D.E.C- November: December re-sit exams
‘Ho pampan'- the aroma
‘akoko nsa- chicken wings
‘distin'- a word used to represent a word/phrase when one cannot readily find one.

13/05/18p7

…Inspired by my mother, ; Mrs. Philomena Baidoo…

Aba Radical
The Photographer of Thoughts
Fb: Mercy Aba Blankson
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