[POEM] Mother

By Abubakar D. Sani, Esq.

Guess what, everyone?    What do we all have in common?    Is it our shared humanity?    Or our identical physiques/anatomies?        Still thinking about it?    Ok, how about this:    It is our common origin!    And I don’t mean our ancestry –          No – I mean that all of us –    To a man, woman, boy or girl;    Was born of a woman;    Ain’t that a fact?          In other words, each of us;    Started out as part and parcel -    Of a uniquely special person;    Whom we all call ‘Mom’          Who can deny her?    Who – except a bastard –    Will deny his or her source?    Yes, we know where we came from    How many times have you heard –    (Except, possibly in the Bible) –    Of a maternity dispute?    Or, of a maternity test?          The reverse, of course;    Is well-known – in fact, notorious;    Unfortunately, perpetrated by who else?    A supposed saint, but a fallen angel          Whose motherliness ordinarily qualifies her;    For veneration and adoration;    But, whose infidelity to God    If not her husband –          Has become a source of shame;    Emotional – and, in certain cases –    Financial and reputational damage;    Such are the wages of sin          Of course, a true mother is not like that –    At all - nothing of the sort;    Rather, she is an epitome of honour;    Nowhere more so than in Islam –          Which preaches that paradise;    Lies at her feet;    It’s there for the taking;    For the obedient child          Honour your mother while alive;    Both of you – in your life and hers;    And you’ve won God’s heart;    What a prize!          So it is with the woman;    For whom we’ve all gathered here today;    She endured where none stayed;    Only death separated her from her husband          Selfless and self-sacrificing - to a fault;    For her children nothing was too much;    Indeed, as she often said;    ‘Rather her than her children’          That ‘70’s local hit record;    About the sweetness of mothers;    Could have been written for only her    At least, that was dad’s opinion!          A mother in a million:    She worked as a nurse –    And had three of us –    While dad burned the midnight oil –        As an undergraduate;    Back in the Sixties;    When love had far more meaning;    Than it does today        It is, therefore, no exaggeration    That this woman – to paraphrase Chief Awolowo    Was a jewel of inestimable value    Here’s hoping God feels that way, too!          And, gives her a pass;    To the highest paradise;    Surrounded by angels from on high;    As well as her children and husband!    Amen!

Abubakar D. Sani, Esq.

08034533892, xl4sure@gmail.com

9^th August, 2021

In memoriam: Mrs. Aminetu Habib Sani Jan. 19, 1938 – July 11, 2021