Beneath the shadow of night

Leave me to myself a little while
until my heart is ready to speak.
I whispered to nature in the shadow of night
In a reflective mood I wept in silence.
 
If there is a divine plan for our lives
It should not be expected to be like a travel agent's itinerary,
all complete with dates, places and time.
God's plans for us is unique in nature.
 
On the floor of a filthy tenement
a young woman died giving birth
The girl didn't live long enough to see
nor hear the cry of her newborn baby.
 
What misfortune could have lead to her wretched end among strangers?
No one knew the young girl's name
No one could question God. It was her fate.
 
As I wept silently into a handkerchief 
I questioned an unknown tomorrow:
What future would be waiting for the poor child?
Would the baby still be alive?
 
The unwashed tiny creature sought for help
Her tears could not wake her dead mother
What she was forced to endure was beyond description
It was as if nature was against her destiny.
 
People stood hovering like vultures in the site
waiting to snatch a few rags from the corpse before it was taken to the morgue
for recognition and funeral.
 
Just as new home was prepared for the baby
Her fragile body could not resist her birth
As she refused to be consoled by no other
Silently, she joined her mother in the eternal rest.
Prisca Onyinye Nwokorie is a  Roman Catholic Nun. She belongs to the religious order of “Oblates of St. Benedict Joseph Labre” in Italy. She is a graduate of the University of Bari where she obtained her Bachelor's and Masters' degrees in “Information and Communication Technologies for the Production of Software” and “Computer Science” respectively. Currently, she is carrying out research work on “E-learning for Developing Countries”.

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