Cry Baby!
written by: Obongofon Etuk
@Bard_Of_Uyo
Hast thou beheld a child’s lament?
Words surrendering to tears, like autumn’s leaves to wind’s lament.
Their voice, a breaking strain, doth reach the skies,
As if their throat, a trumpet, blared a sorrowful surprise.
Their cries, a summon, like a centurion’s call,
Do bring the walls of Jericho down, and make the neighborhood’s walls fall.
A power, unfathomed by mortal eyes, doth reside within that voice,
That shakes the earth, and stirs the clarion calls of mothers’ choice.
Fathers, ye forget, these children are the fruits of your loins’ seed,
And in their tears, a reflection of your own heart’s deepest need.
I have beheld a child’s tears, not shed for mother or father’s sake,
But tears are understood by one who’s known the pangs of love’s heartbreak.
Their melancholy cloak, donned early, doth bespeak wisdom true,
They, like us, have known the sting of sorrow, and the anguish that pursues.
Their cry, a battle cry, doth pierce the air,
And we, in slumber, hear it not, nor heed the warning that it doth declare.
Their strength, unscathed by sorrow’s blow,
Doth mock our own, and make us know,
That they, like us, are vulnerable, and weak,
And their cry, a sound allied to a bite, doth seek solace, and a refuge to seek.
If they reject our offered sweets,
Or hide their tears, like volatile oil, that doth conceal its bitter defeat,
Then know, dear heart, that they are not wounded, but stubborn, and strong,
And in their lament, a solace seeks, that doth belong.
And if I sing the song of tears,
Perhaps, dear child, thou shalt blow thy trumpet, and dispel all fears.
“Cry, cry, baby. Baby, baby, Fanta.
I want to see your mummy,
Shame!
Shame-shame-shame,
shame!”
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
I was eating biscuits on a bus one late evening while returning from work. A little girl asked for some but her mother forbade it. She went on to cry until we reached the bus stop.
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