MY FIRSTS

By Sr. Esther Jeruto Koros (OSF)

I was only four when my little brother was born

Frail and soft like wool, I wanted to hold him, Corn

With feet straightened out, seated perpendicular

For the first time, I realized people just appear

I asked where they got it from and when it would return

A smile of amusement, my mama said, babies don’t return  

That was my first lesson on life.

 

I was only five, when I saw the raindrops fall in solid mass

I kept some in my secret bag to show mum after mass

And for the first time, I realized things just vanish

I tried explaining my discovery, in disappointment and anguish

But she didn’t need the explaining at all

A smile of understanding, my mama said they’re called hail

That was my first lesson on magic.

 

I was only eight when I got ready for baptism

Come in white dresses holding candles, said him

And for the first time, I realized I might miss the rite

Because candles and dresses had to be timed right

Anxiety killed me at night, I would miss such a tangle

A smile of optimism, in the morning my mama handed me the dress and the candle

That was my first lesson on faith.

 

I was only thirteen when I thought my body gushed blood  

The end had come I thought, such a flood

For the first time, I realized bleeding happens unhurt

I still knew somewhere deep within was cut

I asked my mother;

A smile of affection, my mama said, ‘you’re now a woman’

That was my first lesson on womanhood

 

I was only seventeen, naively delightful and appealing

When whispers and notes crushed through the sealing

All miserably desperate, to make a candid match

Now grown we sat on the couch

A smile of anxiety, Mama said, ‘the queen must await her coronation.’  

That was my first lesson on patience.

 

So I know, my mama taught me right

I am just a simple girl, with a wonderful mother

Her wells of wisdom never run dry

My mama is the first god I knew. 

©October 2020