by Elizabeth Edirin Enajeroh

you see her in blinding white
emotions explode in your chest
you start to cry
you see your baby
you see your daughter
she smiles at you
with eyes just like her mother
with lips just like your own
your daughter has become a woman
and today
you have given her to another man
you are sad
because you remember the first time she looked at you when she was born
because you remember when you used to be the only man she loved
because you remember the first time you took her to school
because you remember all the times when it used to be just the two of you
but you are also happy
because she has chosen a man who is better than you
because she would soon bear many children who may look like you
because she has never been ashamed of you
because you know that she would not forget you
she wipes your tears
she kisses your cheek
it’s time for the father and daughter dance
you adjust the strap of the talking drum
you start to drum
she starts to dance
the way she used to dance to the same drum
when she was a child
you cannot drum fast anymore
you cannot dance well anymore
your bones are weak
your feet are sore
so, you drum and dance slowly
as you cry
and she dances around you
as she cries
you know you will never forget this moment
how you danced with your only child on the day she got married

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Elizabeth Edirin Enajeroh is a writer and photographer who is from Nigeria and Sierra Leone. She is both an Engineer and a Supply Chain Specialist by profession, but she has always loved words and images for as long as she can remember. Her goal as a writer is to enter quietly into the lives of her characters so that she can unwrap their truth and expose it to the world. She blogs at www.beautifulandsaved.wordpress.com. She currently lives in Lagos.

Mazi Emeka