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Yaa Ababio

With arms stretched out

Reaching for a clasp,

Ready for a greeting,

Amidst customed cheeks and contagious teethy smile,

She named "Yaa".

Thought it wasn't what I heard.

Thought some foreigners exhausted their birth names and decided to go African.

I bet she had rehearsed her name countless times in front of a mirror.

I bet she had prepared so much so that she missed the part where the average Ghanaian was never a hearty shaker.

She so was innocent.

I could look at her all day,

She was that beautiful.

Never seen anyone mention their name with so much promise.

She was Yaa, Yaa Ababio.

The Yaa in Yaa Asantewaa-

I've heard the name oodles of counts but this,

This sounded alien to my buds.

Like the taste of red wine to a tongue of palm wine- the tapper is left perplexed.

Her accent betrayed her to the question,

"Are you from around here?"

But her aura welcomed her to the announcement,

"We'll always be family"

Tomorrow when I munch on my duo fingers of banana and my lonely hard boiled egg,

I would remember to say "Please oo" for every request I make,

And of course,

I wouldn't forget to don my Pantalon down the hallway.

You'll be missed, Yaa Ababio.

I'm grateful for our little infinity.












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