by JB Favour
Knees on the floor and a head bowed in solemn aura, A voice full of benedictions and soul searing hymns Alone at night, robbed of all slumber and snore Lips uttering prophecies and mumbling verses Her eyes drenched from a marathon of tears And spasms of agitated supplication With her palms raised up to the heavens, She says a prayer and another She calls her son by his name and her daughter by hers She tells her God to watch over them Her shoulders quaking with each mumble She resembles a drunk, but she has had no wine Her knees ache but the pain fires her devotion A myriad of praise and ten more of thanksgiving She asks for blessings, her sincerity evident in her intensity With her raised palms, she switches into her native tongue Her head, she nods vigorously in prayer Her petition is simple, Guide my children, Bless them Forgive them Protect them Heal them Help them She goes back and forth in her plea Incoherent words only the hearer above can understand. Soon, she breaks into a song She lifts those bended knees and begins to tap her feet It is a mother’s psalm, her greatest power A prayer of Nne The one that opens heavens And places her son above his mates And her daughter above hers It is a mother’s psalm The kind that breaks barriers And causes a downpour of blessings. It is her prayers that brought us thus far The greatest thing a mother can give – a mother’s psalm.
* Nne is a Nigerian Igbo word that means Mother. It is an endearing way of referring to one’s mother according to the Igbo tribe of the Nigerian people
JB Favour is a writer, poet, brand consultant, and creative director. She has helped several authors ghostwrite their memoirs/autobiographies, fiction, and nonfiction books with some of her works being produced into film. Her Anthology – Once Upon A Virus, a survival poetry collection of the Covid pandemic that rocked the world is available on Amazon and other book stores globally. Her other works have appeared in The Newcastle Review UK, Brittle Paper, Lion & Lilac UK, Intellectual Ink Magazine USA, and I Am Magazine Belgium. She is also the Founder and Creative Director of a Digital Content Creation, Branding & Marketing Agency, FAVES_PEN and hosts a book show for authors called BOOKTERVIEWS Show
This is soulful, reminds me of my mother, her prayers keeps me going. Thank you JB for sharing this.
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