The Way We Die
By Mathew K Jallow, Associate Editor
She just stood there
To old to fear
Stalked by death
She did not know it yet
Her cheeks sunken
Where age left its mark
Then a flash back
To a time
And an age
Head held high
When she was the village beauty
Not care in the world
How fast time goes
Then she looked back
Makumbaya was fading from view
She glanced back again
For the very last time
The frail old village beauty
Too weak to stand
Too proud to cry
Then she collapsed
How sad
Her shrunken body convulsed
Then utter stillness
She gasped for air
It was too late
She closed her eyes
And her soul crept out
And fled away
Towards heavens door
For this is the way we live
And the way we die
Gambia has lost its soul
Now we are all marked to die
Like the old Makumbaya beauty
From The House of Pullagu