Perceived Nuances And Idiosyncrasies Are Unique, Unchangeable, Don't Try To.. Poem by Tony Cemaluk Egbuonu

Perceived nuances,
Like fingerprints on the soul,
No two hearts beat the same rhythm,
No two voices carry the same echo.

Idiosyncrasies —
The way she ties her wrapper twice, waiting to wage war.
The way he prays with eyes half-open, watchful to wedge war.
The way kola is broken before the first word.
Small things. Sacred things.
Things that make a name more than a name. A man more than a man. One more than one.

They are UNIQUE.
Carved by tradition, by time, by tutelage, by lineage, by blood, faith and convictions.
They are UNCHANGEABLE.
You cannot mount down a mountain to make it fit a valley.
You cannot corrupt a legacy to please a peddling critic, meddling.

So RELAX.
Don't try to copy.
Don't try to correct.
Don't try to force one river into another's bed.

Honor the nuance.
Respect the quirk.
For in those small, stubborn differences
Lives the truth of a person. One that becomes more than one.
Lives the truth of a family. Singular that is Plural.
Lives the Cemaluk foundation. One that becomes all.

Let them be.
Let them stand.
Unique. Unchangeable.
As they were meant to be.