My three houses

Mother told me to build three new houses
Houses to host three families linked by fate
How else could I deny the wisdom she knows

A woman in hand is worth more in the chamber
To confused men who never have an answer
To the why's that build up from the 'I do' question

Mother told me to refuse inconsistent wisdom
From the stubborn elders whose advise is corrupted
In apprehensions so desperate they sell it for a song

Still mother told me to build three houses
For a wife material is more than patterns and stitches
To build on a rock you need to be solid

Still it hurts that out of three only one should count
One who will outlast that old narrative
That traditions spin to orphans in disaster

Mother told me to build three new houses
For the dignity of woman is not curved on four walls
It's in the ripe little blessings plucked the morning after

It's about time I built my mother the three houses
The rain is coming and the families need shelter
Hope I've got strength to supervise the cluster

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La'ngata road, Feb 2017