AS I WAIT

To my baby(s) even before you are born.(27^th August, 2014)

~Wanjiru M

As I wait for you,

Baby it’s just the first trimester and you are already happy about life,

You’re making me even more excited to meet you,

And as time passes through to the second trimester,

I can’t wait to meet you, But what can I do, only wait

 

Mid-way through the second trimester, you are already eager to see the world,

You make a panic appearance and, the doctors have to intervene,

To make you wait,

I guess you are tired of the wait, but you have to be patient,

Maybe that’s something that I’ll teach you as I wait for you to grow up

 

You finally make it to the third trimester,

Too ready yet, ill-equipped,

You make an appearance even before your time,

But the doctors had warned me,

That as I wait for you, I should be prepared for this eventuality

The wait was worthwhile,

 

You came out beautiful, more than anything I had ever set my eyes on,

Your big brown eyes, tiny frame and ooh, those feet and fingers!

I thank God I waited.

You’ve grown so fast and are beginning to mumble,

 

How I wait for the day you’ll call me mom,

And your first step

But hey, I have learnt to wait,

So I’ll wait

 

Time flies and you now call me mom endless times,

When you fall, cry, laugh and funny even when you fart,

And laugh again, without a care in the world

So, as I wait, I’ll teach you to laugh at yourself,

At me, and we can create our own world of laughter

 

As you grow son, I’ll teach you the things I’ve learnt about life,

That a good name and honour is better than gold or silver,

Character, before reputation,

And there are two things, actually three, that you can give and still keep,

Your word, a smile and a kind heart,

 

Do not forget to invest in yourself son,

But most importantly, remember to invest in other people,

We live in a world where everyone is impatient with each other,

But promise me baby, that you’ll try

And oh, as you wait, as you’re patient with people,

Remember to smile and share what you’ve learnt in this life

 

You ask me about religion, what about it baby?

As you grow, remember that the only true religion

Is love God, with all your heart,

And take care of the poor, the needy and orphans

The rest, you’ll learn through your journey as you wait, as you grow

 

Remember to treat people with respect,

Mostly women, but also respect yourself,

Being a gentleman, they say is all a fuzzy idea,

But I tell you son, it’s the best thing,

Open or hold doors, pull seats, and baby, as you wait, smile

 

Baby girl, you too, learn to respect yourself,

And baby, love doesn’t mean Legs Open Very Easily,

You’ll learn this as you wait, as you grow

Dress modestly, have pride in yourself, and be humble,

I’ve taught you to fearlessly stand your ground and reach for your dreams

And I know you’ll make me proud.

 

You’ll have plenty of disappointments in life,

You’ll love passionately, but get heart-broken,

If you are lucky, you’ll marry your first love,

But baby, that doesn’t happen often,

But as you wait, love people with all your heart

 

Have a mystery about yourself,

But be honest in all your dealings,

Be courageous.  Be Fearless.

And in a world that teaches you to be someone else, Baby. Be. You.

Do you, because everyone else is taken

 

Baby, as you wait, as you grow,

This I’ll remind you,

Don’t lose yourself, trying to be someone else,

Be teachable,

Because baby, I may not be there always to teach you,

Or catch you when you fall,

 

When my wait is over,

And I’ve taught you how to truly live,

I’ll have no doubt, that even if everyone else fails,

The one person who’ll truly keep their word-or at least say when they aren’t able to,

And character, is the one I gave birth to

~Wanjiru M.