A Mother with a Purpose

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 wellbeing of her child

Rubaba Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu

Submitted: Monday, September 30, 2013

Edited: Monday, September 30, 2013