DESPAIRING

Oceans of sweat filled my temple
Streaming down my face
With each droplets
Drenching and staining my white shirt.

My fingers firmly wrapped around a briefcase
My only inheritance
Dad’s wornout black briefcase
Containing specifically all my life’s achievements

Releasing a deep sigh
I glance through the glass window
Watching the fleeting houses and trees
Deeply buried in my thoughts

Disappointments, rejections and frustrations
All I had seen in a day
Tears joined the already salty fountain
Welled up on my face

Thoughts raced me back home
Of Mama lying sick on her mat
And Ada’s daily hawking
Reminding me that running home now was no option

Tell me life’s still fair
That the tables will turn to my favour
And not just tomorrow but now
Because I’m their hope- my family’s only hope

By Obinwa Oluchi