Tell Mama I Tried

If I don't make it, tell my mama I tried. I tried to mount the mound which wasn't easy. On both ends they're expecting - one end expecting to welcome me and on the other end they are expecting me stay. It's hard to feed both expectations and stay nourished. For no one can successfully travel on two conflicting roads. It's hard to serve and accommodate two divergent masters without putting one on the altar to appease the other. But if I don't make it,tell mama I tried. Solutions aren't solutions until they're proven. Swimmers are giving hiking notes to hikers. Nomads are offering solutions to the ensconced. Those with full stomachs are giving advice on how to manage hunger. Those with no intentions to travel are asking for directions. Those with no intentions to serve are seeking for office. Going up and down in the name of the people without the people. Using the people as scapegoats... Mama I tried. It's cold there, it's hot here. The same water that has been deferred from here is causing floods there. The same sun that is burning there is rarely seen here. Adapting to ever-changing conditions is not for the fainthearted. Even the prepared sink... But the journey has to continue. The beginning has to end and the end has to end. The end has to mark another beginning. The dreamer has to act on the dreams to make them real. The thinker has to give life to the thoughts. The wordsmith has to weave words with limps so they can move and move the listeners. But if I don't make it, I have tried. Despite what make me shiver, despite what make me shiver like a reed in the river... I have tried to dance to the beat while listening to the words. Sometimes it's conflicting and I get conflicted. But one day the scapegoat will escape! Can it be contained forever? But will it cross to the other end?

Honde Valley Banana Farmers. Photo Credit: Doreen Hove, USAID