MY GRANDMOTHER

I remember my Grandmother
Sitting on her raffia-mat
Her wrinkled back resting
On the sand-texed wall
Of our satellite town flat
Sitting there, sagely
Half-blind, bare-chested
Hair cut low
Childish yet so old

Sitting there, shaking her crossed legs

Twiddling her thumbs
Guess that’s where father got that from
She sits for hours, head bowed
In sweet thoughts lost
I remember her old spring bed
Her faithful bottle of Orheptal
She took religiously
A ritual of some sort

Then there were the pains

Her eyes you see
And for that we remember
Her Phensic pills, “fensiriki” she called them
And every day she took them
Another ritual I guess

Then her “egusi” remains a legend

An expert she was at peeling those
Would do them for hours
Borne from years of practice no doubt
I will never forget her “egusi” soup
It was the highlight of my journey
Anytime we went home
To see her in those last days

I remember us then
Loving her … effortless really
She was so consumingly loveable
And to her
I knew we were special
Her grandchildren
The sparkling stars
in the night sky
Of an old woman

Then there was the greatest ritual of all

Every night she did it
Her hymn and prayers you see
Yes, I remember
Clear as now or yesterday
“Abide with me”

I remember my grandmother

I think she’s gone
But sometimes
Looking at father
I’m not so sure.