Nostalgia of an Incomplete Christmas
Okolo Chinua
“Nne anyi ukwu..."
Mama's face carries with it a happiness you do not find on human trees.
When she sits and calls my name with that smile, she gives me purpose.
She says the smile from a cracked lip tastes different from ours...
That while sitting she sees the grey that longs to grow from our hairs…
Mama's right hand holds wisdom, her left, peace...
It's morning and here you find her seat without her.
Mama's smile, like the harmattan, has grown accustomed to closed eyes.
And I'm writing this piece about nostalgia, wondering what it would be like, a Christmas without Mama…
Daytime finds me in a bus moving forward with my head turned backwards.
When the breeze blows, my head becomes a map one uses to find the route.
The driver swerves swiftly towards the left, forcing my head to lean forwards.
In that brief moment I consider what it feels like to be a corpse…
Okolo Chinua is a writer who writes for many reasons, the beauty of tomorrow being the foremost. Currently he's a student of English Language and Education at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. @_mykrl