I credit my parents for who I am today. English is not my first language and I had to learn it when I was 6 years old. My mum made me read to her every night and I remember my tortuous attempts at pronouncing foreign words. When I was 9, my dad bought me a pink tape recorder and plied me with audio books (then called ‘storytelling books’). An alphabet addict was born!

Mum gave me a stew of letters

reading ‘Jack and Jill’ every night
she listened as I stumbled

words became stories
filling my mind with fantasy
planting seeds of glory

©Vivian Zems

(#cherita)

January Writing Prompts 5/31