![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2016\/11\/Zambia9.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJewel numero uno was born
\nTwo days after Christmas festivities
\nEarly drizzling rainy morning
\nAnxious expectant first father to be
\nVisits maternity ward
\nSteaming tea and egg sandwich in hand
\nIs it a boy or a girl?<\/p>\n
The tiny creature is alive
\nIts tiny chest rising up and down
\nRapid succession precious motions of life
\nTiny hands clasped together under its cheek
\nWhat a peaceful blissful repose?
\nEyes closed in silent sleep<\/p>\n
The jewel almost killed his mother
\nLife\u2019s inevitable risk
\nExhausted mother in pain
\nWhy does life have to begin with such pain?
\nHardly had a wink of sleep
\nDeeps rips and tears in the canal
\nWhy does life end in pain and grief?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The second jewel was born
\nWeeks after Christmas festivities
\nOn Superbowl Sunday
\nTwo feet of drifting snow
\nBitter cold of seventy degrees
\nBelow zero Michigan winter<\/p>\n
Father abandons Joe Montana
\nLabor pains too intense
\nAbandon spectacular show
\nLamaze classes amaze father
\nMonitor mother\u2019s breathing<\/p>\n
Second jewel born after
\nChorus of commands to push
\nTen pounds the nurse says
\nReady to dunk the basketball
\nThree hundred and sixty degrees
\nOn a bitter cold Michigan winter<\/p>\n
Mother and father doing well
\nFirst jewels giggle nervously
\nLittle brother finally here
\nWho is not quite so little
\nHead alone too big for lap
\nOn a bitter cold Michigan winter<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2016\/11\/Zambia4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Third jewel is born
\nNineteen days into the cold
\nMonth of June of Savannah
\nIn a desolate shanty compound
\nClinic in Lusaka Africa
\nBuilt by the Irish
\nIn the shanty compound
\nNamed Kalingalinga<\/p>\n
Men not allowed
\nWomen in many states of undress
\nStressful moans of labor pains
\nIn the crowded maternity clinic
\nFather visits very hastily
\nIs it a boy or a girl?<\/p>\n
I am outnumbered
\nMother feigns complaint
\nWith a twisted smile
\nOn exhausted face
\nIt is a boy
\nThere goes a chance
\nFor a delicate girl
\nBeautiful pretty dress
\nOn Spring Easter Sunday<\/p>\n
The tiny creature is alive
\nBreathing in rapid succession
\nUnder the small baby blanket
\nFather squeezes wife\u2019s hand
\nKisses her on forehead
\nHis eyes glisten all so slightly
\nLooks away dilapidated shanty
\nMurmuring congratulations
\nWill take you home in two hours
\nNow we have three jewels
\nby Mwizenge S. Tembo<\/p>\n
The swishing sound
\nOf the shower
\nEarly in the morning
\nOf yet another bright day
\nOf yet another troubled day
\nOf another anxious day
\nThe swishing sound
\nOf the shower
\nMarks the end of the night\u2019s
\nUnion of sharing
\nSnores and more
\nThe same bed and the same covers
\nNo more tender touches
\nNo more tender kisses
\nWhispers of I love you
\nTill night we meet again<\/p>\n
The swishing sound
\nOf the shower
\nBrings relief to
\nEstranged partners of
\nA zillion nights of sharing
\nSame bed and same covers
\nSame dreams and same expectations
\nTill night we wish
\nWe could not meet again<\/p>\n
The abrupt sound
\nOf the shower
\nSharp and painful reminder
\nThat even passionate secret lovers
\nLocked in blissful ecstasy
\nDo momentarily part
\nOnly if for one day
\nA peck on the cheek
\nA squeeze of the cheek
\nA passionate French kiss
\nTil night do us part
\nTil next time do us part<\/p>\n
The swishing sound
\nOf the shower
\nBrings to a sudden halt
\nEarly morning yearnings
\nOf lovers\u2019 send off for the day
\nFingers of a centipede
\nExplore smooth crevices
\nThose kisses and tender groping
\nI have to hop in the shower
\nI will be late for work
\nTil night do us part<\/p>\n
The swishing sound
\nOf the shower
\nWashes the sweat away
\nThe sweet smell of womanhood
\nThe sweet smell of manhood
\nThrowing the baby away
\nWith the bath water
\nThe pungent smell of cologne
\nThe piercing whiff of
\nChannel Number Five
\nTil night do us part<\/p>\n
by Mwizenge S. Tembo<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2016\/11\/Zambia6.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Six months of searing
\nDry heat
\nDry brown dusty earth
\nRains finally pour in torrential
\nBrown water rapidly filling
\nMeandering through
\nGaping crevices of parched earth
\nThe sweet smell of the first rains<\/p>\n
Trillion insects suddenly
\nBurst into dizzying activity
\nCrawling, singing, flying
\nOn the ground and in sky
\nHissing and buzzing
\nTiny, small, and large
\nBlack, green, red, white insects
\nAll lovely colors in between
\nLone, pairs, many and numerous
\nHissing herds of the sisinya<\/p>\n
The tiny black sungununu
\nOne of them
\nRoams the village dirt
\nAlone
\nIn search of food victims
\nPestle and Mortar pounding
\nMother wearily places
\nBare bottomed baby on the ground
\nBaby babbles playing mouthing
\nThe dirt that is everywhere
\nBaby suddenly shrieks in gasps
\nCries in sudden bursts
\nBaby just breast fed mother wonders
\nWhat could be the matter?
\nMother inspects carefully
\nBaby\u2019s bare bottom
\nLocates a tiny bump
\nThe telltale sign
\nOf the secret sting of the
\nTiny black Sungunu ant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Three Jewels Jewel numero uno was born Two days after Christmas festivities Early drizzling rainy morning Anxious expectant first father to be Visits maternity ward Steaming tea and egg sandwich in hand Is it a boy or a girl? … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"parent":172,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-203","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/mtembo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/mtembo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/mtembo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/mtembo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/mtembo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/mtembo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204,"href":"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/mtembo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/203\/revisions\/204"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/mtembo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.bridgewater.edu\/mtembo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}