Mahogany

Wrinkles like tree rings
Skin silky with a shiny brown pigment
Grey hairs like a cumulus over the savanna
And white molar teeth that remind me of
Mosi-oa-Tunya

You were always true to your roots
Trunk to the family tree
And I quote mama
“He has to get her blessing before he leaves”
Though now I’m in a distant land
Your words are still engraved in my heart
I am after all a bud from your graft
And on my life you have left a permanent  mark
And in my memory, I will forever hold on to a piece of your bark.

 © Heath Muchena, 2009

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