BIRTHDAY WISH
On my birthday, I was going to make a wish
As was a ritual for the birthday girl to ask her maker to grant her a wish
I didn’t ask for a thing; I asked for a person
Me!
***
You see, In foresight, I’ve met me
Elegant, soft-spoken, high-functioning and reserved
She is Tough, accommodating and kind
Sometimes goofy, very dramatic and smart
Oh! She is a beautiful fusion of the Lion and the Lamb
***
When this me enters the room
She owns it without lifting a finger
The how is found in her aura, her pristine presence
In the way, she speaks without sounding rude, aggressive or worse, beggarly
In the manner, she seeks validation only from the truth
And not in the consensus of yes and nay sayers
Oh she doesn’t mind standing alone
Casting no shadows to people please
***
I quava to become this healed woman
Who is no longer triggered by the pains of the past
The trauma that almost broke her
Some adjectives that send shivers down her spine
The events that left her cynical
No longer a believer
Of love, family, and sisterhood
Ah the betrayal cut deep
So deep, I feared she wouldn’t make it to the other side of wholeness
But she did
***
Oh I long for the day I would finally be her
Unlike Eve, She ate of the seven fruits of the spirit
And kept fear permanently beneath her feet
She has so cultivated an ambience of peace
That no one can pollute her energy
With their negative projections and tantrums
Call her audacious
But she would no longer be silenced
By woke culture, peer pressure or the government of the day
***
In her presence, there is warmth
Arms opened wide with safe spaces for the people in her life to thrive
She has learned to be a riverGiving life to everything in and around her
She knows she is the spiritual gatekeeper for her offspring long before they came into being.
The man she calls mine is a reflection of her values and the quality of her decisions.
***
She is no wonder woman
She is human
I mean, life happens on a daily
But she has finally learnt the principles of lemons and lemonades
How to abase and abound
And surf through the ebbs and tides of life
***
She has learned to choose right
And bear the burnt of her actions and inactions
She is fully accountable, even on the days she doesn’t feel like it
Blame-shifting, and gaslighting used to be her MO
But not anymore
She is a grown woman. Yes, still growing
***
I pray I get to this place of rest with her
Where I intentionally hold up a grace card for me and the world around me
This birthday wish sounds like a journey
I’m happy to announce that the baby steps are strong enough for a run.
Writer: Rita Odoh
(Spoken Word Artist)
[insta: @riri.word]
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