Mistakes made by the heart are paid
when it breaks apart

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like walnut fruit.
Until cracked open,
you have no idea if it's good or bad.
Its resilient and hard shell,
so deceitful making you think it is perfect.
But Alas, perfection is far from it.

Pretending to be fine is like
a struggling single mother.
Smiles never leave her wearied cheeks
in the face of her children.
Neither does a teardrop fall ever.
During the night, her pillows are moistened with tears.
But in the day feign smiles.

Pretending to be fine is captivity!
You want to scream but you can't!
cry, but you hold back.
You bite your lips and feign a smile
because any slight move can break a tear.
Then they see this smile and think you're strong.
They see it and feel you hold it all.
But little did they know that they had it all wrong!

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Doing life all by yourself can be quite exhausting

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Sometimes tears says all there is to say,
So let them flow, cause they carry words you can't speak out.

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Dear Dad,
the last time I saw you, you were on the verge of the other side.
Your cold hands dropped before my eyes,
denying me the luxury of being held by them.

But I am grateful to you because you left a woman who took the responsibility of a Dad.
So I say thank you.
Thank you, because your absence has made me strong.
Thank you because you left us a legacy.

thank you because your struggles, your sacrifices and your efforts has yielded good fruits.

Thank you for not giving up, thank you for not letting go and thank you for keeping us right.

I love you now and always.

From your beloved son
Ubasinachi Allison.

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Dear Dad,
the last time I saw you, you were on the verge of the other side.
Your cold hands dropped before my eyes,
denying me the luxury of being held by them.

But I am grateful to you because you left a woman who took the form of a Dad.
So I say thank you.
Thank you, because your absence has made me strong.
Thank you because you left us a legacy.

And to Woman who's been a Dad
I say thank you.
I know your struggles, I know your sacrifices and I see your efforts.
And I tell you that one day, it will yield good fruits.

Thank you for not giving up, thank you for not letting go and thank you for keeping us right.

I love you now and always.

From your beloved son
Ubasinachi Allison.

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would put me on his lap and tell me tales of the tortoise and his craftiness.
As we sit under the full moon on the veranda.

He would tell me the sweet tales of the two brothers: the sun and moon.
How they got separated, to give us this light.
I remember the songs he sings sonorously,
and my eyes glittering with excitement as I sing along.

My Dad would drive down to MR BIGS after Bible study service
so that I could eat the sugar-coated doughnuts and ice cream I craved for.
He would get enough bread and tea in the house because he knows his daughter does not take any other food.

And because I always followed him everywhere, I was tagged "first lady" by our neighbors.

My childhood was fun because of Dad and I am ever grateful for that.
Thank you Dad for everything.

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to get buried and plunging in the abyss of agony.
to get pierced by the thorns of sadness,
as the rhythm of your heartbeat is replaced with heavy sighs and stuffed burdens.

when you try to speak nothing comes out but whispers,
so low that they can't hear.
You try to reach out, only to notice there's no one there.

And so just like a defeated turtle, you coil back into your shell.

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I don't want the perfect one,
I just want the one that's perfect for me!

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I don't want someone perfect. I just want someone who's perfect for me.

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