Pity This Old Mother

Pity this old mother from whose left eye, dropped a tear

As to her only son, she said, “Today you must swear

Upon your departure from the village to the city, that without fear,

You will face the teeming challenges of life, and never give ear

To the counsel of bad friends who will your life to pieces tear.”

Attentively, the young man listened with maternal love so dear,

But five decades later, he returned to the village where much insults to hear,

For he had nothing else than in his trembling hands a dangling bottle of beer,

Having spent a precious lifetime drinking alcohol to a very high gear.

Pity this old mother, for then, she was just an inch to her grave near.

 Nkwetatang Sampson Nguekie