There is a time to be born
Then you suckle her succulent breast
Get a ride on her back
Like a mother Baboon to her Baby
This is a season of growth
We all passed through it

There is a time to crawl
A time to fall, stand and walk
Just like a new hen
In a new environment
With one leg at a time
She studies her environment
Then she begins to fly
Looks for trouble and says
"I will tell my Mummt for you"

There is a time to be schooled
Not just formally these days
To survive the current economic realities
You need skill based education
This, your sure bet to financial freedom
Afterall, "Who certificate help"

None can survive without "Mama thank you"
Without which you will be history
From the days of John the Baptist
We have been eating "Mama Thank You"
Our sweet Mother
Our comfort in times of war...

She fought many unseen battles
That you and I may live
She tolerated concubines and new wives
Even when father said her wine was stale
She even served them food
So that we will not be poisoned
"If you know you know"
Especially if you survived polygamy like me

What can we do without our mother?
A God in human form
She could have left the union
But what will people say?
"What will happen to her children?"
She weathered the storm
The tempest storms from family
Her love was pure agape
When was the last you told her "I love you?"

She sold fishes that you be educated
She believed in your ability to succeed
You were her greatest investment
Yet, she never stopped serving  you
And all you say is "Mama Thank You"
Do you know that thunder is real?
And she didn't take postinor
When you were conceived...

At Age thirty, you are still home
Struggling with her scarce resources
Competing for space with siblings
Still eating "Mama Thank You"
Of what value is your education?
Has it made you independent
Or a non-entity?

If our parents took loans
To finance our education
With you still eating "Mama Thank You"
After successfully completing NYSC
How can you pay them back?
Would it be okay to mortgage you
Just as a collateral
Afterall you spent the money

Wake up my friend!
This is not a poem
This is a clarion call to do right
Before you buy i-phone 12
Have you honoured your parents?
Before you pay your Girlfriend's house rent
Have you paid your parents'?

No one takes oranges
And takes the seed alongside
In your meagre earnings is a seed
And if you are not earning
After all your education
You are just a lazy youth
You still want to eat "Mama Thank You"
"Mama Thank You Kee You Dia"

This is a clarion call
Before you call your girlfriends
Or your Sugar "Zaddies"
Have a meeting with yourself
Have you been financially good to Mummy?
What about your Superman, your Daddy?
Do you even know their account number?
If you don't, make that call
And place them on monthly stipends

Sometimes in life
To unlock the golden door
That your heaven may open
You don't need fasting and prayers
You don't need prayers from spiritualist
All you need is to act right
Go back to your root
Honour the god that poured blood on you
Especially from your wallet

Little hinges swings great doors
Little drops makes mighty oceans
You mustn't engage in Yahoo plus
Or corporate "Olosho" in whatever guise
You too can play in the big leagues
If only you honour your parents
That it shall be well with you
That they too may say
"Thank You My Pikin"
You have been advised!

Babatunde Raimi
Author/Life Coach/Poet
08178827380/08035063895