Dreams Of Tomorrow

As my grandpa lowered himself gently unto the agbantara, it gave off 

A creaking sound that screamed its weakness – A sound as old as its occupant. 

He softly munched on the ewurö stick, as though he was afraid to 

Chew. He beckoned to me, with eyes craving to be put back in the comfort of 

their sockets; away from the evils of this world. 

In a croaked voice, he said, "The shampoo-starved grey

hair shall live on, the strong wrinkles shall show & the ever-willing bones 

Would not hoard the truth —

of how we wished for it all to come true. 

The goals we shall chase till

we leave for everlasting rest. In peace we hope, once upon our dream;

the dreams of tomorrow."

His words weighed heavily on me as though a stone was tethered 

On my tongue. As I chewed his statement in my head, he added, 

'live it once and live it many times." 

And, in one sentence, 

he shared the secret of how to achieve our tomorrow. He had 

To spit his wisdom from the cave of a few brown teeth. A three-legged man 

yet handicapped he had become from experiences he could not lay hold on & dreams he could not tell

 

Glossary:

- Agbantara is a wooden chair bench for old people.

-  Ewuro is a medicinal vegetable.

©Sakeenah Kareem