“Promise to a mother’s lost”
A Malaria Poem

by Adadzewa Otoo, Student, Ghana
Read by the author at the World Bank, April 24, 2008, for World Malaria Day

It reminds me of a mother’s loss
A mother’s love capitulating normalcy, a bit of bizarre
Then the reality.
The typical cold and headache
A good excuse not to be in school,
Her good friends would visit her after school,
Enjoying the early dusk and the fun of conquering the unlucky mosquitoes
they would take turns in clapping their hands and counting their gains

It was strange,
The call that evening,
Mama was rushing, looking for her keys 

After the news at 7:00 Mama came in,
Fell onto the sofa and threw her hands over her head,
Nana is gone, her sullen words, her tearful eyes
Bedtime came and a big surprise,
a big net to sleep in!

The next morning, it was hush, hush,
Miss Annan’s sadness made the class unusually quite,
“close your eyes and pray for Nana” she ordered,
A new cure for absenteeism I thought,

At Sunday school, we again prayed for Nana,
It was there that mama told me that Nana is gone,
that she won’t come again.
Why?
She had malaria and God took her.
Ah, but everyone gets malaria,
I had a cold and was hot last week,
The doctor said I had malaria and gave me a painful injection!
But my little mind wondered off,
Thinking heaven took only old people like Grand pa,

Seven then and in class two,
I am now a score and four, with a countless record of malaria bouts,
Yet I still get malaria and so does everyone else,
Some say, malaria, is part of living in Africa but
The rain will always fall, how wet you get depends on you!

Mama says.