Jejelaiye…

Jejelaiye…live life easily, slow and steady or something close to it…

So there was this street named Jejelaiye, in the beloved place of my childhood,

 A very quiet street, very slow paced…everyone seemed to walk slowly there,

And if I close my eyes I can see that even the cars and motorcycles drove slowly by..

Life was easy, life was slow, and life was calm on Jejelaiye Street.

Houses were far apart, one School, one Church and one risqué business down the road…

I walked that road many times, to take my dad’s clothes to Uncle Ruffy.

Uncle Ruffy was my dad’s drycleaner and I never knew a man that smiled as much as he did…

I’d sit there for hours, just watching him scurry around, trying to do ten tasks at once.

Always whistling a merry tune, always smiling, always happy.

I met someone very dear to me on that street, but that’s a whole other story.

In my fast paced life today, thousands of miles away, I wish…

I wish I could take a million steps back to when life was easy and calm…

I wish I was that young girl with wide eyes, who knew no pain or hurt yet..

If I had three wishes;  I wish, I wish, I wish that I could live carefree like that again,

Slow and easy…Jejelaiye.

 –Adaugo,2016