A Mother With A Purpose Poem by Rubaba Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu

She ran

Between the lanes

On a very busy road

From car to car

Selling her plantain chips

They were of two types

Ripe and unripe

She had packed them nicely

The big ones were 50 pesewas

The small ones were 20 pesewas

She had a lot of them in a basket

A basket she carried tirelessly on her head

She was sweating all over

Her feet was covered with dust

As she hopped from car to car

She shouted

“Plantain chips oh! 20p,50p”

Her lucky time

When the traffic light turns green

For she can now walk comfortably

Among the cars

Her story

She had a child at sixteen

A mistake she made whilst in school

Her parents never cared

A mistake she was determined to correct

How?

By doing what she did

To the best of her ability

For it was her only decent option

To give her child the best

Of what?

Education and Food

Attention and Affection

And everything she never had

Her dream

To see her child become somebody

And so she does what she does

With a great passion

For the sake of her child

The purpose of her life

The well being of her child