I skipped a transition stage to adulthood
Jumped and dived into pregnancy with my eyes closed
I was never ready mental, emotional nor financial
I was bearing fruits of my wayward ways
A baby is a blessing, so they say
It has sunshine and shadows
I have a share of jovial days
Where I see a blessing in my arms
A gift that cultivates its way to my heart
And plants a smile on my face
Motivates me to double my hustle
Innocent soul on my chest for warmth
A feeling so satisfying
Some days are gloomy as sky promising to rain
It dawns on me that I betrayed my dreams
I’m not even a half jubilee
I needed to be a kid not a mother
Yet I had a baby to mould and nurture into adulthood
Tears streamed down my cheeks like Nile River
In discernment of the stage, I was in
With no magic to turn back time
As bittersweet as my reality was
I embraced the speed humps, mother of rollercoasters
The sunshine and the shadows of a teen mom.
—
Read – Transition – A Poem by Nicole Biondi, South Africa
My name is Unathi Mphikiswa, and I am 25 years old. I was born and bred in the deep, dusty rural area of Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. I’m a Nelson Mandela University graduate with a Bachelor of Education, and an aspiring writer. I am currently unemployed and writing poems as a hobby and a way to cope.
Motherhood is bittersweet ❤️