CONVERSATIONS

Conversations will endure

Conversations by women of women with women

Women who have endured through the ages

Women who have borne the pain

of seeing their men demeaned and brought down on their knees

 

Conversations that tell of the truth

That dull ache inside that wants to make it better

Women endure

Through all this, they smile

Have faith

Give thanks and praises

With open arms wipe away tears

comforting

 

Gathering around the kitchen

The conversations speak of good times

Of funny incidents

Of the joy of a newborn

Of marriage

Of death

Sweet aroma of cakes whiff out of the windows

While the rest of the family join in one by one

 

The young hang around listening to the conversations

Of the old

Of the wise 

Of the women

The stories remain ingrained in their minds

To be told to their children

That is how history

The stories and memories of families

Get handed down to always re-appear

Never to disappear

 

(c) Mariska Taylor-Darko  2021

Written for the Hawaii to West Africa Poetry Exchange- Sisters Across Oceans