I am Marhteena
I come from a small village in southern Cameroon where people use kerosene lamps at night and store drinking water in large aluminium pots.
where neighbors share kitchen utensils on a daily basis and eat from the same bowls of soup with one another.
where children go to the streams in the morning to fetch some water for cooking and rake the woods for some firewood.
where women go to their farms to plant corn, yams and vegetables while the men tap fresh palm wine and tend the goats and pigs.
where children play under the scorching sun and eat roasted grasshoppers for lunch.
where children make their own toys from rafiagrass and abandoned wires
where children climb trees and hunt birds with their catapults
where children go fishing with small bowls and learn how to swim by themselves
where children sat around fireplaces at night to tell folktales and ancient stories
I am Marhteena, i come from a very small clan but these experiences have shaped me into who i am today
I AM PROUDLY AFRICAN!!!

I walk lonely as clouds
where do the crossroads meet
i dream of things i have never seen
it makes me long for paradise on earth
my thoughts at night are
Dangerous enough to destroy the ******* towers of Hong Kong
powerful enough to break through darkness
soft enough to melt every sadness
with a touch of love and sweet memories
Yes, i am a night owl
Some call me a nocturnal bee or the crazy thinker
Because, the NIGHT was made for
Lovers, writers, poets, artists, painters and thinkers like myself

Wednesday lover
you bring out the music in me
that makes me sing loud like a ****-a-doo-doo
Wednesday lover
You're the mirror in which i see my very own reflection
nostalgia, Aahhh ...
that longing for something familiar

It was on the 31st day of the 7th month in the year 1990
On a cold Tuesday night at the Bota hospital, Limbe
At 11:45pm
I finally came out with a cry for attention and love,
After a long struggle between life and death -
as the doctors tried to save my ailing mother's life.
Mom was bleeding helplessly
I was almost forgotten on a table wrapped in a linen cloth
The mosquitoes feasted on my succulent pinkish body
I cannot tell if my cry was one of Joy, to be born into an unknown world
Or; a cry of pain and misery to be abandoned on a hospital table
like an Orphan child
My grandparents were trying to save the life of my mother, their beloved daughter and they almost forgot about the poor little child that was born
As they told me, my mother passed out from the surgery
when she woke up the next morning,
It was like she was in a trance and she shouted to see the baby
The nurses had to hold her down because she just had a surgery
and didn't need to strain the stitches below her belly
Then, i was brought in to meet my very biological mother
She held me in her arms and hugged me, and her eyes filled with tears
Then, i could hear her heart whisper;
"I wouldn't have known what you looked like my poor child"
At that point, i giggled in her arms and am sure if she could understand
a baby's language; I was only telling her
"Never you leave me again Mother"
That is the story of my birth;
The "Extra-Ordinary" child was born into an "Unknown" world!

Sometimes we do not always get what we want in life
But then, we should be thankful for the small things we have…
A forgiveness granted
A loving family
A friendship deepened
A talent discovered
A goal attained
An accident avoided
A gratitude spoken
A difficult concept mastered
A love recovered
A new opening
A blessing received
A natural wonder witnessed
If we put all these together,
Then we realize that we are truly blessed beyond measures
So, Be thankful!

Just like a rainbow after the storm
Just like the calm of the sea after the waves
Just like sunshine after the rains
Just like Spring after the winter
Just like the rising moon at night
Just like the cry of an infant at birth
Peace brings back that tranquility
It heals all the pains of yesterday
It refreshes the soul and uplifts our spirits
Peace is all we'll ever need in order to thrive on!