Once Upon a Time Cinderella Atulewa Created her own Destiny

There she stood

Cinderella Atulewa,

Nigerian through and through

Both graceful and tall.

Her Aunty was strict. The cane was her friend

She yelled, “Atule, useless girl bring me my pen!”

The pen right in front of her, but Atulewa did as she was told

She dared not open her mouth lest she be sold

Aunty’s daughters were worse

They had no heart

They slapped her; punched her

and burned her books for she was smart

Atulewa was no fool

She knew her potential

When the family was away she submitted her credentials

Before the death of her parents, she had a good education

And the scholarship program was impressed with her artistic presentation.

She was going to America and no one would stop her

Except for her Aunty who found out, then beat her and prepared to lock her

Away in the storage room with no food or water

But she would not be stopped for she had the stubbornness of her father

With passport in hand and the little money she had saved,

She kicked the door open and escaped into the night and the rain.

Now, she is in America

Both a surgeon and a wife

A baby on the way

And the opportunity for a new and better life.