#gambia
Gambia is the feeling you get when your mother says, “I love you”
And it smells like a ripe mango
That grew from the tree in your aunties backyard
Gambia tastes sweet like fresh kaba and sugarcane
Gambia is sitting on a sheet
And sharing a plate of Benechin with your family
Keeping the door to the compound open
So the stray cat can come in and out as she pleases
And being sure to save a piece of fish just for her
Gambia is walking across the red dirt road to the cornershop
When you’re craving a cup of warm milk tea
Or a piece of tapalapa bread
To split with your cousins
Gambia is throwing stones at palm trees
And learning how to husk coconuts with your siblings
But being very careful not to cut your fingers with the cleaver
Because the man who picks the coconuts hasn't come in weeks
Gambia is the place you never want to say goodbye to
So you squeeeeeze onto every minute you're there
And pray that you’ll come back to visit
Because Gambia is your home, and it's the feeling you get with your mother says,
“I love you.”
Dec 24, 2025
Dec 24, 2025 at 9:25 PM UTC