[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