She Marched (Marched, Rather Than Wandered In The Wilderness Of Wildowhood) Poem by Tony Cemaluk

She marched, rather than wandered.
She marched in the wilderness of Widowhood
without windows of hope, of help.

Widowhood is a wilderness,
A deep jungle with no map.
Many wander.
Many beg.
Many slump.
She marched.

As an Amazon, she marched,
Roughshod against the odds,
Against the whispers,
Against the wait for her to falter, to faint, to fall, to fail.

She fasted that her children might eat,
Starved that they might live,
Shrivelled that they might survive,
Went thirsty that they might drink.

No water in the wilderness,
Yet she turned wilderness to water.
By sheer doggedness,
By sheer sacrifice,
By sheer love.

She did not wander in sorrow.
She marched in purpose.
Wilderness became habitable abode,
Abode became dynasty.

Amazon extraordinaire,
Ebube Agbala,
PUgo Gbuzuo Ochakee,
Ochie Dike Nnem na Nnam —
She marched,
And we rose — the victor, not the vanquished.

- Tony Cemaluk
For Mama Cecilia Malukwuo Egbuonu
Feb 20,1937 - March 5,2026lp