Ana put her glass down, too deep in laughter to hold on to her cocktail. She had the craziest friends ever. They had a habit of meeting at least once every quarter. It wasn’t much, but they didn’t want their busy schedules to get in the way of their friendship.
“I still think all men are the same.” Betty interjected after the laughter died down.
“I don’t agree”, Kyerewa said, amidst a few scoffs.
“Oh please. Even the most innocent ones have a few skeletons in their cupboard.” Naa said matter-of-factly.
“Well who doesn’t?” Ana asked. “No one here is innocent.”
Everyone started to talk at once, trying to establish their points of view.
“Hey, hey!” Manza tried to break through the noise, without much success.
Thinking of the best way to catch the attention of four noisy girls, Manza whistled the loudest she could.
It worked. The ladies quieted down.
“Ei, since when did you become so loud?” Naa exclaimed, surprised.
“Since I realized talking softly never helped anybody” Manza joked, then continued, “Now that I have your attention, err…I wrote something and wanted to share with you guys.”
“Aww what would you do without us?” Betty replied, flipping her well-coiffed hair.
Rolling her eyes, Ana said: “Read away hun…”
“Don’t laugh o”, Manza quickly said.
“My dear, if we don’t laugh at you who will?” Kyerewa giggled.
“Yooo* I’m starting…”
“Wait o, before you start, is it a poem or freestyle?” Naa interrupted
“Errr….free flow, no limitations” Manza said grinning.
“Flow, flow, flow”, the girls chanted, excited.
Manza cleared her throat….
“Perspectives change, depending on where you’re standing.
I’m never really the type to talk about some stuff, but thought today it’ll be worth trying.
What does it really mean to fall in love, to let someone else in?
Is it a time to lose yourself or discover all the good within?
All men are the same they say, but I think it’s quite relative;
You can’t really tell, from just any perspective.
I sometimes wonder how it works…how we’re able to trust, to hope, to believe
Even when the present circumstances may not be all we yet want it to be.’
Betty interrupted “Manza do you want to make me cry?”
Jokingly, Manza rhymed “Well I could at least try”
“Continue with the flow; I’m getting carried away” Ana said impatiently.
Nodding, Manza continued:
“Have you ever wondered how the whole thing happens?
How a man and a woman can fall in love all of a sudden?
Everyone has their reasons, some deep, some just plain crazy, but everyone has their own story.
It could be that smile, the way he cares, the way she forgives,
Or even his swag, his calm nature, the lifestyle he lives.
Or even her dark complexion, her luscious hair and then her character…
Forget it, they say it’s not about the looks, but for some people that matters.
I heard a girl say she’s never going to fall in love again;
The pain in her voice told me how much she had been betrayed.
She said she had given her all but got nothing in return,
And it made me wonder, do we only give our best when we think we’ll get something back?
What about when it’s tough, when it’s downright ugly?
Do we remember all the promises we made when we were happy?
“Deep!” Kyerewa interjected before Manza continued:
“Whoever said love was easy must have never experienced the real kind…
Yes it’s simple, but requires a crazy state of mind.
A mind that constantly thinks up fresh ways, that forgives, that overlooks,
A mind that can put itself in the other’s shoes.
All men are the same….yeah to an extent it’s true…
But as women, what if maybe at times we were at fault too?
I talked to a few guys and then it became clearer
Guys have what they’re looking out for too, despite the tough exterior.
A woman who honors him, prays for him, supports him, but can also let down her hair and be his best friend, fighting partner and everything in between,
A woman who will give him his peace of mind and show interest in his vision.
Don’t get me wrong, some guys will never see the good in front of them!
You can give them the world, but they may still trample over it.
That doesn’t mean there’s a problem with you, sometimes it’s just not meant to be…
Sometimes too we just have to agree to disagree.
A woman deserves the best, but hold up, men do too!
Take one day at a time and before you realize, the love grew…
Don’t nag, don’t read meaning into everything, but most importantly don’t fight the battles on your own.
Trust me, prayer is the best gift for your man (and for your own peace of mind).
And oh, don’t take on the killer looks when you want him, but stop making the effort when you have him!
And guys you’re not left out…don’t promise her the world when you want her but give her just a city when you have her.
The heart is a funny place full of different emotions,
But we can all at least try, to make our world, our home, our love what we want it to be.
I’ve got to end here but before I do, don’t kill yourself dear. By all means give it your best shot, but don’t lose yourself.
Don’t lose your hopes, your dreams, your laughter, your amazing spirit and never-ending chatter.
Be yourself, and work on what needs to grow.
Believe it or not love does grow…..depending on how you look at it.”
Manza shut her book and looked up.
Betty was trying her best not to mess up her mascara with her tears. Ana picked up her phone and walked out to call Kwesi, whom she had just had a fight with. She was always waiting for him to apologize first but decided to change things this time around. Naa silently stared at her engagement ring. Kyerewa sat still with a silly big grin on her face.
“Manza you’re a genius! You put all our sentiments into this piece!”
Manza smiled shyly.
Ana walked back in from her phone call smiling. “Manza, please publish this on your site. You never know who needs to read this.”
Betty aggressively nodded her head “I one-hundred percent agree!”
“Even Betty hardcore agrees then what are you waiting for?” Kyerewa teased.
Manza took out her laptop and started to type…..
*yooo – okay
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