Ina son ku: I love you

Images: Pins andhttps://www.pexels.com/

Tiny, bony hands, groping for my golden hair.

A mother, in flowers from head to toe, swaddling a toddler in a sling; with the likeness of a sickly mare.

Wiggling free the heap of bones comes to me, on wobbly feet and a rounded, bloated, stomach.

I scoop her up in my foreign arms, and kiss her till l’m sure my heart will not obliterate this epoch.

Mud, smeared faces and bodie’s resembling a pack of battered skeletons; Climbed over me, like a pack of wild monkeys, squealing with anticipation and glee.

I picked the babie’s up; one by one. With stricken eyes and tender hands, I healed their wonds, smoothed the evident bruises, and kissed their tears to jubilee.

I heaved big, wet sobs that slid down my face and ran through their dry, cracked features. Pain and death may rain here, but their safe, for awhile, in our loving care.

“Ina son ku,” I whisper in the attentive ears. Bobbing their coco heads, they take their grimy palms and wipe away my tears.

Thought their hunger rages like a fire and pain and death creep closer. They can look into my bright, blue eyes and see a violent storm. And with the dirty hands and quivering lips; they attempt to calm the stormy waves.

Kissing the coffee, heads, on last time. And look into the hazel eye’s, I notice a distant ralm, barring the knowledge of sorrow and wisps of great deaths; harshly engraved.

The walking dead, only thirst for human love to heal the scares of their pain. Their pulsing hearts mimic ours, same needs and together we can give them that one drop of desire.

Like meany, little thumping drums, they call to me, ”Uwar!” “Uwar!” “Uwar!” Forming a choir.

With a single hug and a million little kisses, I have become their, ‘Uwar’—Mother and they my children.

“Ina son ku,” I call through unshed tears.

“Ina son ku,” they reply, their little voices echo through waves of anarchy.

I shall not forget the love that was spread, that day, even if I where to reach million.

Joy Tiberend

‘Ina son ku,’ is the Nigerian word for: I love you, in the Hausa language. Love is a very powerful thing, it can bind people together and express deep feelings, the way no other word can accomplish. Though, a lot of poeple have a mixed idea of what love really is. Most of Hollywood’s romantic, starry eyed books and films seem to paint a picture of two people falling in love and their lives being filled with roses, and happily-ever afters.

Love is so more then just attraction and bliss. It’s a deep commitment that bindes one, to another. Love is forgiveness, when anonther has wronged you, and mercy to the broken-hearted and destitute. Love is conditional.

My inspiration came, one day, when I was scrolling on the web and I came across a few of the pictures (view at the top) portraying theses girls loving on a knot of happy foreign children. Their faces so jovial and oddly peaceful wooed my heart to know what kind of love made people, fly half way around the world, just to ministers to some ragged and homeless kids. I wanted to know what those kids felt when a girl with bright, blond hair hugged and kissed them.

I had arduous time at trying to write this post and it wasn’t just writers blog! I wanted to portray those feelings I saw, through my writing, but at the same time couldn’t understand a love that would undertake such devotion and take away all analytically. Or maybe, it was logical and I just couldn’t see the logic…?

My mind was pop’in questions faster then I could answer them. I almost gave up working on this paper, but then I remembered a popular scripture in the Bible that states a deep reality of what love really is. It said: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Well, now I know that they where doing a great love by, giving their lives and professions for those children, but one question remained unanswered: why?

As I digged deeper, all throughout the Bible their where continual verses that state that if we don’t love others, then we aren’t loving God, (John 13:34) and to love, above all, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 54:)

This eye-opening truth, was telling us to love others because he first loved us. To love others with a burning love, so strong that it would conquer every obstacle and selfish desire. When God called them to go, they went, because they longed to covey the same love He showed them, to the lost and dying world.

This is Love. To sacrifice your wants, desires, needs, and life for others. To love conditionally and willingly. There is no greater or truer love then this.

I was so touched by these images; theses girls just simply loving on the children, with happy and willing hearts. And to imagine the children feeling that expression of love. To them, it was most likely greater than a drop of clean water or a morsel of food. For one, compassionate moment of love, could have fill their hearts for a a life time, than a crumb of food that would of filled their stomachs for only a moment.

I tried to explain this beautiful truth and feeling through my poem, wheather I acomplished it or not; is a short goal compared to loving others verbreuntly every day, as I tried to communicate with all this rambling. 🙂 So, please understand, that there is so very much more to love then being attractive to someone or loving a piece of Chocolate cake.

I would also like to past a few verses of what the Bible teaches as about love, so next time when you’re tempted to think This is true love then stop, and read this woundedful truth:

—Love—

• Love is patient, 
• love is kind.
• It does not envy,
• it does not boast,
• it is not proud .
• It does not dishonor others,
• it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, 
• it keeps no record of wrongs.
• Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
• It always protects,
• always trusts,
• always hopes,
• always perseveres.
• Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13%3A4-8&version=NIV