Dysfunctional…

Ba’ami is here
Ma’ami is away
Children are somewhere
I hear you say “Dysfunctional”!

He was drunk again
She has gone to work
She returned to be his punching bag
Did I hear you say Useless man?

That was how I grew up
I visited Becky’s family
Her dad and mom in love
Everything close to perfection
“Different folks, different strokes” you say

I accepted my fate
The last I heard of Ma’ami’s faint voice
“Omo mi o, Omo mi o” after each blow
As she breath her last!
I hear you curse!

I had to work, Yes! I hustled
I decided to take destiny in my hand
I decided the type of life I wanted
Surely neither Ma’ami’s nor Ba’ami’s
I see you smile and say good child

I taught myself
At least I knew the dysfunctional
And functional is the opposite
That was enough info
“Ka’are omo dada” you say

I am here today
Gone through years of hardship
I made it through
The best at what I do,
A family physician with a loving husband
And I say
Dysfunctional ain’t so bad after all
It moulded me
I see you look in wonder and say “You’re one of a kind”!

You may also like

No Comments

  1. I’ll say good enough but to give a constructive criticism, there was disjunction btw the emotions and the reality in that the person saying all this is at d other side now and cannot bring into d present d rigors of the past. I hope u understand.

  2. Dear Lawal, poetry shouldn’t be scrutinized but appreciated, it’s exceptional from the other genres of Literature. It is the purest expression of emotions.

    RICH is the word for this poem o!

Join the conversation.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.