Memoirs Of A Third World Child [Memoirs Of A Third World Child]

My parents live in the magical first world
While I live with my aunt in the third world
They send money to look after me
Pay my school fees and ensure that I live comfortably

On school breaks I go to visit my grandfather
He teaches me a lot about farming;
How to cut papyrus, how to pick fruits from trees
Then he prepares a feast for his luckiest grandchild

I have memories of being chased by a dog
around my granddad’s property
past the tree that pierced the sky
On the perfect lawn that I never once saw mowed

My aunt was caring enough to look after my sister and I
She had raised four children of her own
And took us in like we were her own
What’s more? She did all this on her own

My parents break their back with tough immigrant work
Before he became a Christian, my grandfather was an alcoholic
The dog and I became best friends two months before it’s death
The tree that pierced the sky is and always was a few meters high
My aunt cried as we had forgotten our native language,
the only language in common we had with her