Expectation high...
Means low...
Then with a sigh
I took a bow
With a fixed arrow
Went a shot to the row!
Target missed
Boos, effort greeted...
Head high again
Instrument kissed
Another shot belted...
Effort not in vain!
Bulls eye hit...
But not till the second bit!
Monday 26 August 2013
Thursday 15 August 2013
It's in You
You could kill
But U should save
Cos both are in U.
You could fail
But U should succeed
Cos both are in U.
You could drown
But U should float
Cos both are U.
You could destroy
But U should preserve
Cos both are in U.
You could sell
But U shuld buy
Cos both are in U.
To recreate d world
It is in U.
Whatever could be done
By U in this wide whole world
Is in U.
Endeavor 2 do d good
And never make people 2 brood
Cos d power 2 destroy
And also employ
Is in U
But U should save
Cos both are in U.
You could fail
But U should succeed
Cos both are in U.
You could drown
But U should float
Cos both are U.
You could destroy
But U should preserve
Cos both are in U.
You could sell
But U shuld buy
Cos both are in U.
To recreate d world
It is in U.
Whatever could be done
By U in this wide whole world
Is in U.
Endeavor 2 do d good
And never make people 2 brood
Cos d power 2 destroy
And also employ
Is in U
When a Kiss Becomes a Diss
Lyf becoms very unencoraging
And it seems as if heaven is nothing but raging
Den u feel as one thrown into a deep abyss
Becos a kiss had become a diss.
A kiss becomes a diss
Wen a lyf of affluence is robbed of its bliss
Wen a very important friend
Becomes an undisputably enviable fiend.
Den u look up and down
Wit little or no option but 2 frown
U think lyf itself worths nothing but a hiss
Wen it is evident that a kiss had become a diss.
Unto us all is d call to turn dis disses
On our very own earth into very blissful kisses.
And it seems as if heaven is nothing but raging
Den u feel as one thrown into a deep abyss
Becos a kiss had become a diss.
A kiss becomes a diss
Wen a lyf of affluence is robbed of its bliss
Wen a very important friend
Becomes an undisputably enviable fiend.
Den u look up and down
Wit little or no option but 2 frown
U think lyf itself worths nothing but a hiss
Wen it is evident that a kiss had become a diss.
Unto us all is d call to turn dis disses
On our very own earth into very blissful kisses.
Women!!!
Women Oh Women!!!
The necessary evil in the lives of men.
Women it is that makes you extra sad
When nothing in the world will make you mad.
Women are an indispensable tool
Even to the foolishest fool.
To be in the right frame of mind
Try to have one of the woman kind.
Then to be the saddest man in the pack
Then have one of them behind your back.
They make you mad at will
That can't be done by the strongest pill.
Just pray that you have a good one
That the battle of life by you can be won!!!
The necessary evil in the lives of men.
Women it is that makes you extra sad
When nothing in the world will make you mad.
Women are an indispensable tool
Even to the foolishest fool.
To be in the right frame of mind
Try to have one of the woman kind.
Then to be the saddest man in the pack
Then have one of them behind your back.
They make you mad at will
That can't be done by the strongest pill.
Just pray that you have a good one
That the battle of life by you can be won!!!
Night Time
Night is the time
That crawls in like slime
It is full of activities
That we celebrate with festivities.
Night it is that habours
All evils in the mind of all that labours
Killings and kidnaps that are watertight
Are done secretly by men in the night.
Meetings and Machinations of any intent
Are done in the night to the heart's content.
Thence, I call on the sleepy friend
Stay awake for a part of the night
Even if the most bleary fiend
Disturbeth thee. And say a prayer not loose but tight!!!
That crawls in like slime
It is full of activities
That we celebrate with festivities.
Night it is that habours
All evils in the mind of all that labours
Killings and kidnaps that are watertight
Are done secretly by men in the night.
Meetings and Machinations of any intent
Are done in the night to the heart's content.
Thence, I call on the sleepy friend
Stay awake for a part of the night
Even if the most bleary fiend
Disturbeth thee. And say a prayer not loose but tight!!!
Rainy Day 6
Above all, I realised
Although in a hard-soft way
That moral uprightness is best for anybody
From anywhere, at every time.
Those you help when you are up there
Could place cushions for you when
You are tumbling down.
Those you think are minors
Could help you when they become majors.
So never write off anyone
At anytime, no matter what.
I then realised
And shed joyful tears
That never spoil your child
Even if you are so disposed to doing it.
Let your child realise his potentials
In the best of environments
That your wealth can fetch
But not placing him at
At an advantaged position at the expense of others.
The fair advantage you get him
Will help him long after you are gone.
Then I realised
That life is not and
Will never be a BED OF ROSES.
It is bitter sweet
It is happy sad
It is good bad
It is rich poor
It is ...
Life is nothing
If you don't strive
To make something out of it.
(THE END)
Although in a hard-soft way
That moral uprightness is best for anybody
From anywhere, at every time.
Those you help when you are up there
Could place cushions for you when
You are tumbling down.
Those you think are minors
Could help you when they become majors.
So never write off anyone
At anytime, no matter what.
I then realised
And shed joyful tears
That never spoil your child
Even if you are so disposed to doing it.
Let your child realise his potentials
In the best of environments
That your wealth can fetch
But not placing him at
At an advantaged position at the expense of others.
The fair advantage you get him
Will help him long after you are gone.
Then I realised
That life is not and
Will never be a BED OF ROSES.
It is bitter sweet
It is happy sad
It is good bad
It is rich poor
It is ...
Life is nothing
If you don't strive
To make something out of it.
(THE END)
Rainy Day 5
Friends were nice to me
Foes were happy.
Foes? Do I have? Yes, I have had
But let me tell you,
It wasn't easy
But friends consoled and helped me
Helped me adjust to the new life.
The new life of responsibility
The new life of not-eating-all-you-have
The new life of hardship
Hardship?... To me it was hardship
Or do you opine otherwise?
The pay was increased
And I began to save
Save more than I spend cos
I realised before it became too late
I realised while I was still young
That the rainy day is for real.
It could rain on you anytime,
Anyday, anywhere, anyhow, even, anywhat!!!
I realised that savings help your life
Betters your lot and cushions your fall.
My parents didn't save enough
They depended on loans.
So the cushion wasn't there when they fell...(2 b cont'd)
Foes were happy.
Foes? Do I have? Yes, I have had
But let me tell you,
It wasn't easy
But friends consoled and helped me
Helped me adjust to the new life.
The new life of responsibility
The new life of not-eating-all-you-have
The new life of hardship
Hardship?... To me it was hardship
Or do you opine otherwise?
The pay was increased
And I began to save
Save more than I spend cos
I realised before it became too late
I realised while I was still young
That the rainy day is for real.
It could rain on you anytime,
Anyday, anywhere, anyhow, even, anywhat!!!
I realised that savings help your life
Betters your lot and cushions your fall.
My parents didn't save enough
They depended on loans.
So the cushion wasn't there when they fell...(2 b cont'd)
Rainy Day 4
Then it happened!
Dad fell sick
Mum treated and treated
Then he died!!
There are huge loans to be paid
The loans can't be repaid
The company folded up
The houses were sold to settle
These skyhigh loans.
The mum was heartbroken
Then she too,followed suit.
The workers went away
And I was left alone with nothing
Nothing from both parents
Nothing cos the family members
Extended family....you know
Had taken over the last house
Sold and shared the lots.
I had only a car
To show as an inheritance from both parents.
I had nothing more from them
Save my job which they got for me.
Then I thanked God for the first time
That I wasn't working in dad's company... (2 be cont'd)
Dad fell sick
Mum treated and treated
Then he died!!
There are huge loans to be paid
The loans can't be repaid
The company folded up
The houses were sold to settle
These skyhigh loans.
The mum was heartbroken
Then she too,followed suit.
The workers went away
And I was left alone with nothing
Nothing from both parents
Nothing cos the family members
Extended family....you know
Had taken over the last house
Sold and shared the lots.
I had only a car
To show as an inheritance from both parents.
I had nothing more from them
Save my job which they got for me.
Then I thanked God for the first time
That I wasn't working in dad's company... (2 be cont'd)
Rainy Day 3
Dad got me a job
And I was doing good at it
For I was still above average
While in school just spoilt.
The pay was good and I still
Had more money from home
I mean from my parents!
The spending spree never stopped
Extravagant lifestyle piling up on me
Sparing little thought to amounts and what-nots
But always helping those in need
As had been instilled by the mother.
'Life can't be all like this'
Said a friend once.
'It is either it goes in a jiffy
Or you die young at this rate
You are going.' quoth he.
'You care too much about the world
Life is meant to be enjoyed
We work for the money
So we have to spend it
Spend it cos another of equal or
More in proportion will come.' Saith I.
'But at least save for the rainy day.'
'There is no rainy day
There is no need to save cos
The house is already filled.' Said I.
So adamant and stubborn
Was the fiendish spirit in me...(2 be cont'd)
And I was doing good at it
For I was still above average
While in school just spoilt.
The pay was good and I still
Had more money from home
I mean from my parents!
The spending spree never stopped
Extravagant lifestyle piling up on me
Sparing little thought to amounts and what-nots
But always helping those in need
As had been instilled by the mother.
'Life can't be all like this'
Said a friend once.
'It is either it goes in a jiffy
Or you die young at this rate
You are going.' quoth he.
'You care too much about the world
Life is meant to be enjoyed
We work for the money
So we have to spend it
Spend it cos another of equal or
More in proportion will come.' Saith I.
'But at least save for the rainy day.'
'There is no rainy day
There is no need to save cos
The house is already filled.' Said I.
So adamant and stubborn
Was the fiendish spirit in me...(2 be cont'd)
Rainy Day 2
Then I was out of school.
As spoilt as I was
I surprisingly had some percentage
Of morality in my skull
Instilled by my moral conscious mother.
She never allowed me insult
Any of those working for us.
If I should do so
Apologise, do I have to
On her rebukative instruction.
Then I thought she was being harsh on me
But later it is a saving grace for me....(2 b cont'd)
As spoilt as I was
I surprisingly had some percentage
Of morality in my skull
Instilled by my moral conscious mother.
She never allowed me insult
Any of those working for us.
If I should do so
Apologise, do I have to
On her rebukative instruction.
Then I thought she was being harsh on me
But later it is a saving grace for me....(2 b cont'd)
Rainy Day
They told me
To face it
But I refused.
I refused to face the fact that
The fact that life is not
And will never be
A bed of roses.
I thought and thinked
That cos I was born
With a silver spoon stuck in my mouth
And I had it all going rosy and cosy
For me, it will all be like that
For ever...albeit for life...ages to come.
I had everything at my beck and call
Servants and others attending my needs.
At school,
I was the toast of every eye
Not cos I was extraordinary at the books
But cos the dough was there
To throw, toss and fling around
And in faces
To get only what it can't get
Which is ... Nothing!
Teachers loved me
Lecturers knew me
Pupils liked me
Students hailed me
Even cultists revered and respected me
Cos the cash was there to control
As I want to... (to be cont'd)
To face it
But I refused.
I refused to face the fact that
The fact that life is not
And will never be
A bed of roses.
I thought and thinked
That cos I was born
With a silver spoon stuck in my mouth
And I had it all going rosy and cosy
For me, it will all be like that
For ever...albeit for life...ages to come.
I had everything at my beck and call
Servants and others attending my needs.
At school,
I was the toast of every eye
Not cos I was extraordinary at the books
But cos the dough was there
To throw, toss and fling around
And in faces
To get only what it can't get
Which is ... Nothing!
Teachers loved me
Lecturers knew me
Pupils liked me
Students hailed me
Even cultists revered and respected me
Cos the cash was there to control
As I want to... (to be cont'd)
A Friend or Fiend
Happy is he who makes others happy
He comes to them as a friend
Not daring all things flappy
A friend he is, not a fiend.
Friends make you enjoy life
Fiends expose you to strife
Your lots are better
Cos you have friends who cater
For your needs
And not fiends who watch your deeds
For mistakes to crucify you
On the fastidious trees of yew.
Which would you prefer
To smile with a friend
Or suffer
In the hands of a fiend?
He comes to them as a friend
Not daring all things flappy
A friend he is, not a fiend.
Friends make you enjoy life
Fiends expose you to strife
Your lots are better
Cos you have friends who cater
For your needs
And not fiends who watch your deeds
For mistakes to crucify you
On the fastidious trees of yew.
Which would you prefer
To smile with a friend
Or suffer
In the hands of a fiend?
A Deathly Conversation 3
Your grey hair
Your falling teeth
Your stooping back
Your drooping breasts
Your incessant illness and wellness
Your almost blind eyes
The wounds and injuries you sustain
And their healing and scars
Moreover, your inability
To move at your former pace.
I can't exhaust them.
I sent them to you
To warn you
To signal the approach of the day.
So everyday you spend on this earth
Is a messenger of me, Death
It tells you of the approach
Of the time you are leaving this world.
Concluded he.
I was shockfounded
Cos all he said was true.
Then he said,
My friend your appointed time
Is winding down.
In some minutes time,
I death
Will take you gently
Off the surface of the earth
And make you become
A good history.
That was when it occured
To me to put down
This deathly conversation
To enlighten and teach the world of mankind
The reality in the approach
Of this entity called DEATH!
It is the inevitable end
To every soul both straight and bend!
Your falling teeth
Your stooping back
Your drooping breasts
Your incessant illness and wellness
Your almost blind eyes
The wounds and injuries you sustain
And their healing and scars
Moreover, your inability
To move at your former pace.
I can't exhaust them.
I sent them to you
To warn you
To signal the approach of the day.
So everyday you spend on this earth
Is a messenger of me, Death
It tells you of the approach
Of the time you are leaving this world.
Concluded he.
I was shockfounded
Cos all he said was true.
Then he said,
My friend your appointed time
Is winding down.
In some minutes time,
I death
Will take you gently
Off the surface of the earth
And make you become
A good history.
That was when it occured
To me to put down
This deathly conversation
To enlighten and teach the world of mankind
The reality in the approach
Of this entity called DEATH!
It is the inevitable end
To every soul both straight and bend!
A Deathly Conversation 2
Then I began living my life
As it was before his visit
But only on the threshold of his promise.
Day after day
I was expecting his messenger,
Warning, servant, informer,
Anything to serve as a sign
But none came!
Then on a warm
Bright and Sunny day,
He came again himself.
This time I wasn't shocked
But I was surprised because
I was expecting his messenger(s)
Before his promised visit!
But on after thought,
I thought that having
No servant or messenger
He had come to warn me
And give me the appointed date
Of my departure
From the surface of this earthly world!
Welcome friend. Said me.
I am a friend and an enemy
Depending on
Who you are
And what you do. Said he.
Have you come to warn me?
No, replied he.
Then why have you come this time?
I have come to make you history. He replied.
But you promised to send
Your warnings and messengers
To me
Before the appointed time. Argued me.
I did. He said
Did you not see them? He asked his first query.
I did not.
I sent them and they
Are still with you.
I looked around me
Seeing nothing
Nobody
I whined, Where are they?
They are here on and with you.
He said compounding my predicament.
I shouted, What or who are they?
I cannot see them. I continued.
He looked at me
Then said,
They came to you a long time ago,
Confused, I said Where are they now?
To be cont'd
As it was before his visit
But only on the threshold of his promise.
Day after day
I was expecting his messenger,
Warning, servant, informer,
Anything to serve as a sign
But none came!
Then on a warm
Bright and Sunny day,
He came again himself.
This time I wasn't shocked
But I was surprised because
I was expecting his messenger(s)
Before his promised visit!
But on after thought,
I thought that having
No servant or messenger
He had come to warn me
And give me the appointed date
Of my departure
From the surface of this earthly world!
Welcome friend. Said me.
I am a friend and an enemy
Depending on
Who you are
And what you do. Said he.
Have you come to warn me?
No, replied he.
Then why have you come this time?
I have come to make you history. He replied.
But you promised to send
Your warnings and messengers
To me
Before the appointed time. Argued me.
I did. He said
Did you not see them? He asked his first query.
I did not.
I sent them and they
Are still with you.
I looked around me
Seeing nothing
Nobody
I whined, Where are they?
They are here on and with you.
He said compounding my predicament.
I shouted, What or who are they?
I cannot see them. I continued.
He looked at me
Then said,
They came to you a long time ago,
Confused, I said Where are they now?
To be cont'd
A Deathly Conversation
I was sitting in my room
When suddenly I saw him
Standing fearlessly in front of me!
Inquisitivity got the better of me!
Who are you? I asked
I am called Death. Said he.
I was surprised and confused
Is this the death about which much
I have heard
Then I thought that the hour
Has come for me to leave.
But before I leave
I will teach the world a little
About this real entity!
What have you come to do here?
I have come to pay you a visit
Does that mean you are taking me with you?
No, not today. Said he.
Then do you visit people like this?
No, I visit people only to take their lives.
Why are you not taking me now, then?
Cos I want you to teach the world a little more.
Then when are you coming to take me? Asked I
I don't know yet. Said he
Why? Asked I
It is what your Lord says that I do. Replied Death.
Then I have a request to make. Intoned I.
Say it and it is granted, replied he.
Please warn me before I become taken by you.
Is that all? He asked his first question.
Yes, just a warning to aid my readiness. Said I.
It is granted.
I promise to warn you before time.
That said, he went as he came.
... To be cont'd
When suddenly I saw him
Standing fearlessly in front of me!
Inquisitivity got the better of me!
Who are you? I asked
I am called Death. Said he.
I was surprised and confused
Is this the death about which much
I have heard
Then I thought that the hour
Has come for me to leave.
But before I leave
I will teach the world a little
About this real entity!
What have you come to do here?
I have come to pay you a visit
Does that mean you are taking me with you?
No, not today. Said he.
Then do you visit people like this?
No, I visit people only to take their lives.
Why are you not taking me now, then?
Cos I want you to teach the world a little more.
Then when are you coming to take me? Asked I
I don't know yet. Said he
Why? Asked I
It is what your Lord says that I do. Replied Death.
Then I have a request to make. Intoned I.
Say it and it is granted, replied he.
Please warn me before I become taken by you.
Is that all? He asked his first question.
Yes, just a warning to aid my readiness. Said I.
It is granted.
I promise to warn you before time.
That said, he went as he came.
... To be cont'd
The Meeting.
The dinning room of the Akinolas was a reflection of the taste of the
head of the family, Mr. Dejo Akinola, a vibrant business man of timbre
and calibre in the city. It is a simple but resplendent affair and awash
with all comfort that he thought will make his family enjoy each meal
time. In a corner, is the family's bar that boasts of the best drinks
the world has to offer, to be served in paper thin wine glasses that are
resident in a beautiful flower patterned serving tray which sits in a
corner on the bar's counter top. The dinning unit consists of eight
chairs arranged all round the table with three chairs each along the
length of the table and the remaining two gracing the shorter ends of
the table. The dinning table and chairs are made of thick, dark and
nicely carved mahogany, coated with sweet smelling wood lacquer, to give
it a brilliant finish. The room, which could be accessed from two ends,
the sitting room and the kitchen, boasts of a persian rug on which sits
the dinning units, and a split air conditioning unit. Directly above
the dinning unit is a beautiful chandelier which illuminates the room.
In another corner is a giant standing fan which provides alternative
source of coolness to the room. On the table are eight lovely handmade
table mats. A ceramic vase with fresh flowers, that are picked daily,
sits in the middle of the table. Underneath all these is a white table
cloth with golden flowers that make it appealing to the eyes. The window
is covered with floor length green curtains dotted with blue flowers.
Back in the Days
When men were boys
When the boys were foetuses,
There was peace!
When ladies were girls
When girls were just pregnancies,
There was abundance!
Peace in abundance
Food in excess
Life was gay
Sadness was rare
Tear were absent
Except from children
Who were Oliver Twist!
Life was simply sweet
When men were boys
And women, girls!
Now,
Boy are men
And girls are women!
Foetuses are girls
And pregnancies are boys!
Life has turned
And now is on its head
We all can't lay
On our bed!
Things have become
Anything but easy!
The land is very tired
Despite all her softness,
She gives birth
To little or nothing!
Tears flow freely
Not from wanting more
But from having none!
Happiness is rare!
Everybody is looking bush!
No one sends the other!
War is now the way to peace
Peace that is non existent!
Perverts everywhere,
Guys running after guys
Ladies want to marry ladies!
What an irony!
Life is simply filled with bile
Now that children are adults
And pregnancies, children!
How I wish
That life can back track
To when the boys were foetuses
And the women were girls!
Cos now,
It seems so hopeless
That a smile
Costs so much to be bought!
When the boys were foetuses,
There was peace!
When ladies were girls
When girls were just pregnancies,
There was abundance!
Peace in abundance
Food in excess
Life was gay
Sadness was rare
Tear were absent
Except from children
Who were Oliver Twist!
Life was simply sweet
When men were boys
And women, girls!
Now,
Boy are men
And girls are women!
Foetuses are girls
And pregnancies are boys!
Life has turned
And now is on its head
We all can't lay
On our bed!
Things have become
Anything but easy!
The land is very tired
Despite all her softness,
She gives birth
To little or nothing!
Tears flow freely
Not from wanting more
But from having none!
Happiness is rare!
Everybody is looking bush!
No one sends the other!
War is now the way to peace
Peace that is non existent!
Perverts everywhere,
Guys running after guys
Ladies want to marry ladies!
What an irony!
Life is simply filled with bile
Now that children are adults
And pregnancies, children!
How I wish
That life can back track
To when the boys were foetuses
And the women were girls!
Cos now,
It seems so hopeless
That a smile
Costs so much to be bought!
The Pathologist
The Pathologist ( An attempt at W. S's Post Mortem)
From her lavished home
Into the body bag!
From the body bag
Into the cold freezing plant!
There is more to it
Than the freezing of beers
That's for you to hear!
She was beautiful
Or so,
She had thought to herself!
But not anymore!
The reason for her leaving
And the manner for it
Must be known!
He was called in.
And again she moved
But she knows not that she moves!
Now, she moves
From the freezer
Onto the bier
Into the green room!
But she wasn't aware!
How futile!
He came in
Clad all in green.
Down came the scalpel
Tearing her up
Like a butcher with his knife!
He pulled and tugged
At dead intestines
At rotting food remains
At the bloating liver
At the motionless eyes
At more and more!
Then he took samples.
Samples that will tell
Or even untell
The cause of death
Of this once-upon-a-time beauty.
Looking at the once
Privately private body
That was gaily covered
And that no one
Could anyhow intrude.
Looking at all before him
He knew
Again and again
As in all other ones
That we are living
In futility!
We are but wastes!
His job is to find
The causes of deaths
Of this body and many more
Before and after.
But he thought
For how long more
Will he do it?
He knows his will be done
Then his man pike
A grub would have become!
But when will it be done?
Lots of deaths
He had helped demystify
But what will kill him?
He knows not.
He only knows
That one sure day
The Pathologist
A stiff will become!
Into the body bag!
From the body bag
Into the cold freezing plant!
There is more to it
Than the freezing of beers
That's for you to hear!
She was beautiful
Or so,
She had thought to herself!
But not anymore!
The reason for her leaving
And the manner for it
Must be known!
He was called in.
And again she moved
But she knows not that she moves!
Now, she moves
From the freezer
Onto the bier
Into the green room!
But she wasn't aware!
How futile!
He came in
Clad all in green.
Down came the scalpel
Tearing her up
Like a butcher with his knife!
He pulled and tugged
At dead intestines
At rotting food remains
At the bloating liver
At the motionless eyes
At more and more!
Then he took samples.
Samples that will tell
Or even untell
The cause of death
Of this once-upon-a-time beauty.
Looking at the once
Privately private body
That was gaily covered
And that no one
Could anyhow intrude.
Looking at all before him
He knew
Again and again
As in all other ones
That we are living
In futility!
We are but wastes!
His job is to find
The causes of deaths
Of this body and many more
Before and after.
But he thought
For how long more
Will he do it?
He knows his will be done
Then his man pike
A grub would have become!
But when will it be done?
Lots of deaths
He had helped demystify
But what will kill him?
He knows not.
He only knows
That one sure day
The Pathologist
A stiff will become!
I Believe in Love 2
It has become a tiger
Whose claws are tearing
My flesh of patience and perseverance
Into lots of unbeautiful shreds!
There is no cause control
Everything is desperately under desperate alarm!
Tell her to come
Cool my burning heart
Because
I have every reason now and always
To believe in this thing called love!
Here is my heart content
To whoever feels like me,
Help me
Join me
In singing
This song of hope
That...
''It's burning my heart
It's burning my soul
Now I believe
In this thing called love,
It's holding me tight
It's not letting me go,
Now I believe
In this thing called LOVE!''
Whose claws are tearing
My flesh of patience and perseverance
Into lots of unbeautiful shreds!
There is no cause control
Everything is desperately under desperate alarm!
Tell her to come
Cool my burning heart
Because
I have every reason now and always
To believe in this thing called love!
Here is my heart content
To whoever feels like me,
Help me
Join me
In singing
This song of hope
That...
''It's burning my heart
It's burning my soul
Now I believe
In this thing called love,
It's holding me tight
It's not letting me go,
Now I believe
In this thing called LOVE!''
I Believe in Love
I never believed in it
I always make jest
Of those who have fallen victim
To the whims and caprices
Of this being called love.
You are unwise
How could you fall
Into something with your eyes
Wide open. So said I
To them
When they come narrating
To me the way they burned
With desire to see their
Loved ones. Or can I say
The very soul they love!
Until I fell victim myself
I do at times question
Myself that..
How on earth could
One individual hold another
Like him/herself to ransom
With his/her charms and good looks
Flawless smiles and effervescent lifestyle
Delicate walking steps
And angelic voice
Which melts even the hardest of rocks
In the heart of any man!
The only reply I could give
To my worthless self is that...
It is the work
Of this creature called love!
When I discovered that I
Had been a living dead,
When I knew that my life
Had been excellently meaningless,
When I came to the fact
That I am but a lonely and solitary recluse,
When I woke up to the reality that I
Had been dreaming in a deep trance,
When I had known that there
Is a gaping vacuum in my life
That needs to be filled,
I believed in this thing called love!
Then came my experience
In its hands
It swept me totally unaware
Off my thoughtfully solid feet!
It made me feel as if I
Am in the highest of heavens.
At the same time
Conversing in the deepest depth of hells!
It tortures my unyielding heart
Burns my ravished soul
At the same time
Nurturing the wound it created
In the gulf of my very being!
Then I believed
In this being called love!
My love come to me
Do not leave me to myself
Even for the tiniest of seconds!
This that I suffer on your account
Is unaccountable.
Were it to be accounted for
To whom do I give its account?
Whoever, whenever, wherever,
Whoever and whomever sees
And knows where
The love of my life is
Tell her to come running along
To me cos
It's killing me softly
It's shouting quietly to me
Inside and outside.
And I am
No longer at ease
Because my world is fastly
But slowly falling apart.
(To be cont'd)
I always make jest
Of those who have fallen victim
To the whims and caprices
Of this being called love.
You are unwise
How could you fall
Into something with your eyes
Wide open. So said I
To them
When they come narrating
To me the way they burned
With desire to see their
Loved ones. Or can I say
The very soul they love!
Until I fell victim myself
I do at times question
Myself that..
How on earth could
One individual hold another
Like him/herself to ransom
With his/her charms and good looks
Flawless smiles and effervescent lifestyle
Delicate walking steps
And angelic voice
Which melts even the hardest of rocks
In the heart of any man!
The only reply I could give
To my worthless self is that...
It is the work
Of this creature called love!
When I discovered that I
Had been a living dead,
When I knew that my life
Had been excellently meaningless,
When I came to the fact
That I am but a lonely and solitary recluse,
When I woke up to the reality that I
Had been dreaming in a deep trance,
When I had known that there
Is a gaping vacuum in my life
That needs to be filled,
I believed in this thing called love!
Then came my experience
In its hands
It swept me totally unaware
Off my thoughtfully solid feet!
It made me feel as if I
Am in the highest of heavens.
At the same time
Conversing in the deepest depth of hells!
It tortures my unyielding heart
Burns my ravished soul
At the same time
Nurturing the wound it created
In the gulf of my very being!
Then I believed
In this being called love!
My love come to me
Do not leave me to myself
Even for the tiniest of seconds!
This that I suffer on your account
Is unaccountable.
Were it to be accounted for
To whom do I give its account?
Whoever, whenever, wherever,
Whoever and whomever sees
And knows where
The love of my life is
Tell her to come running along
To me cos
It's killing me softly
It's shouting quietly to me
Inside and outside.
And I am
No longer at ease
Because my world is fastly
But slowly falling apart.
(To be cont'd)
Piracy: Another Naija Thing
An hydra headed monster
Rearing its extraordinarily ugly head
In the Nigerian waters
Denying people of the right to reap
From the fruits of their intellectual stress
Enriching unscrupulous vagabonds
Who smile to the banks
To the detriment of the unsuspecting
Owners of the intellectual property.
Violating intellectual property laws
Without batting an eyelid
These hard hearted pirates!
Piracy!
It is hightime
We put an end to this monster
In our crawlingly vibrant economy
To encourage more intellectuals
Who are waiting to produce to benefit
Our country and raise her to heights unimagined!
Piracy!
Piracy must be collectively fought against
By all and sundry
Else...
We all in this growingly great country
Of ours will continue to wallow
In various depths of intellectual slavery
Courtesy of...
Piracy!
Rearing its extraordinarily ugly head
In the Nigerian waters
Denying people of the right to reap
From the fruits of their intellectual stress
Enriching unscrupulous vagabonds
Who smile to the banks
To the detriment of the unsuspecting
Owners of the intellectual property.
Violating intellectual property laws
Without batting an eyelid
These hard hearted pirates!
Piracy!
It is hightime
We put an end to this monster
In our crawlingly vibrant economy
To encourage more intellectuals
Who are waiting to produce to benefit
Our country and raise her to heights unimagined!
Piracy!
Piracy must be collectively fought against
By all and sundry
Else...
We all in this growingly great country
Of ours will continue to wallow
In various depths of intellectual slavery
Courtesy of...
Piracy!
The Iroko goes home
The Iroko has fallen!
The rot has begun.
As the scavengers
Lay in wait
For what is left
Of a once great tree!
The Iroko goes home!
Today
Things have fallen apart
Cos they were hit
By an arrow of god
Then things are
No longer at ease
Because a man of the people
Goes home!
The Iroko goes home!
A great man rots
As the lowly man.
But not the rot matters
But the memories!
The Iroko goes home!
The rot has begun.
As the scavengers
Lay in wait
For what is left
Of a once great tree!
The Iroko goes home!
Today
Things have fallen apart
Cos they were hit
By an arrow of god
Then things are
No longer at ease
Because a man of the people
Goes home!
The Iroko goes home!
A great man rots
As the lowly man.
But not the rot matters
But the memories!
The Iroko goes home!
A Lament
...Can you stop my tears?
Can you take away my fears?...
Everyday I cry
Everyday I try
To make a sense of it all
And see the height above the wall,
Yet I see nothing there
So I resume my crying here!...
Life is so unjust
To me it has given dust
To others it gave gold
So much that I need not to be told.
Am I suffering for a crime
Which my fathers had done before time?
Or is it my little sins
That is giving me these in milk tins?...
Help is the greatest of my needs
Cos every second my heart bleeds
From the agony of my situations
Which has been for generations!...
So out of my teary eyes
Bringing out streams of waters cold as ice!
I look up to heaven
Which they say numbers seven
And cry aloud
As much as my croaky voice allowed...
...Can you stop my tears?
Can you take away my fears?...
Can you take away my fears?...
Everyday I cry
Everyday I try
To make a sense of it all
And see the height above the wall,
Yet I see nothing there
So I resume my crying here!...
Life is so unjust
To me it has given dust
To others it gave gold
So much that I need not to be told.
Am I suffering for a crime
Which my fathers had done before time?
Or is it my little sins
That is giving me these in milk tins?...
Help is the greatest of my needs
Cos every second my heart bleeds
From the agony of my situations
Which has been for generations!...
So out of my teary eyes
Bringing out streams of waters cold as ice!
I look up to heaven
Which they say numbers seven
And cry aloud
As much as my croaky voice allowed...
...Can you stop my tears?
Can you take away my fears?...
To My Unborn Child
Faraway in an unknown
Unknown distant land
Land she sleeps
And wake all alone
All alone she lives
Lives and waits
Waits for me to come
Waits for me to come
Come take her to be mine.
Every morning
In that faraway
Distant and unknown land
She sings and sweeps
Like the African Woman she is!
...Inside her
Is my child
Yet unborn...
It is to you
My unborn child
That this address is to...
...My child
Whenever, Wherever and Whichever
Way you choose to come
Into this world
May you meet this as a gift
From me to you!!!
...I am your father
Pride you are to me
See you not I may
And see you I may
But let it ring down in you
That a pride to me
You are...
...This world you are
Coming into
Is a ugly beautiful place
A hopefully hopeless city
A beautiful city
With ugly villages
Which houses men
Of different varied intents
And women
Whose animalistic innerlings
Are covered with glowing skins
And ready made garments!!!
...I had done my part
My part to bring you hither
And leave for you
A lot of deeds
Both good and not too good
Also bad and not too bad.
I had done my part
To bring you hither
In the best vessel around!
And grow will you
In this truly wicked world
To be nice and righteous
Till you strive and strive
To make it
Better than you met it...
Just like I
Your father...
...You know me not
My unborn child
But my news you hear
From that which is your carrier
Of the too many bads
That I did
And of too few goods
That by me are done.
Struggle! Struggle!!
My dear Unborn Child
To better my deeds
And better your lots
For the betterment of the world!...
...Though it be cruel to you
Fight to abrogate cruelity
Though it be ugly to you
Struggle to promote beauty
Though it be a hell for you
Endeavour to create a heaven in it.
...For the world
Is always not what
It seem to be
And in it
Nothing remains as it is
For so long a time
Like Mariama Ba's
Long Letter!...
...So my dear child
Learn from my story
Avoid my pitfalls
Use my strengths
Understand my weaknesses
And drink from my wisdom pot
And it shall better you...
...For...
You are
My Unborn Child...
Unknown distant land
Land she sleeps
And wake all alone
All alone she lives
Lives and waits
Waits for me to come
Waits for me to come
Come take her to be mine.
Every morning
In that faraway
Distant and unknown land
She sings and sweeps
Like the African Woman she is!
...Inside her
Is my child
Yet unborn...
It is to you
My unborn child
That this address is to...
...My child
Whenever, Wherever and Whichever
Way you choose to come
Into this world
May you meet this as a gift
From me to you!!!
...I am your father
Pride you are to me
See you not I may
And see you I may
But let it ring down in you
That a pride to me
You are...
...This world you are
Coming into
Is a ugly beautiful place
A hopefully hopeless city
A beautiful city
With ugly villages
Which houses men
Of different varied intents
And women
Whose animalistic innerlings
Are covered with glowing skins
And ready made garments!!!
...I had done my part
My part to bring you hither
And leave for you
A lot of deeds
Both good and not too good
Also bad and not too bad.
I had done my part
To bring you hither
In the best vessel around!
And grow will you
In this truly wicked world
To be nice and righteous
Till you strive and strive
To make it
Better than you met it...
Just like I
Your father...
...You know me not
My unborn child
But my news you hear
From that which is your carrier
Of the too many bads
That I did
And of too few goods
That by me are done.
Struggle! Struggle!!
My dear Unborn Child
To better my deeds
And better your lots
For the betterment of the world!...
...Though it be cruel to you
Fight to abrogate cruelity
Though it be ugly to you
Struggle to promote beauty
Though it be a hell for you
Endeavour to create a heaven in it.
...For the world
Is always not what
It seem to be
And in it
Nothing remains as it is
For so long a time
Like Mariama Ba's
Long Letter!...
...So my dear child
Learn from my story
Avoid my pitfalls
Use my strengths
Understand my weaknesses
And drink from my wisdom pot
And it shall better you...
...For...
You are
My Unborn Child...
My Heart Bleeds
I am guilty!
You are guilty!
But not only you and I
We are guilty!
Guilty of what?
I hear you query.
We are guilty of murder!
Yes, Murder!
My heart bleeds
Is yours bleeding?
On a daily basis we commit it
On an hourly basis we do it
On a minute basis we sink into it
Even every second we don't spare it.
We commit this murder
With reckless abandon.
We care not about
About its consequences.
Yet the result is written
Allover and around us!
My heart bleeds
Is yours bleeding?
We, the vicegerent of
The earth's dynamic Creator
Given the mandate
Charged with the task
Of keeping the earth sound
Are busy with murder
Every second!
My heart bleeds!
Is yours bleeding?
The earth is what it is
Because you and I
Have murdered the Qur'an
Yes! We have murdered it!
And are still murdering it!
So when we
The endtime followers
Of the last Prophet
Who bequeath unto us
This flawlessly beautiful,
Remarkably unquestionable,
Infact
Highly knowledge-filled last testament,
Have continually murdered
This life enriching
And soul changing constitution,
What hope has the world?
My heart bleeds,
Is yours bleeding?
We murder the testament
In a million and one ways.
Yes! In more ways than one.
I left it in a corner
Of my room
Dust settling on it!
You left it on a shelf
In your library.
The space very beautiful
But the testament itself,
Dusty!
We hang it in our cars
To serve as a decoration
Twisting and turning on the twine
Like a crazed club dancer!
They place it under their pillow
And their heads
On it placed every night
Protection they say
From it they have!
Are these not cases of murder?
Tell me if wrong I am!
My heart bleeds!
Is yours bleeding?
The other day You I saw
Yes, You!
Tearing out the Waqi'ah and Ya'sin
What for? Asketh I
You said you want to tie them
With thread. Isn't it?
Black and white thread you used.
To protect you
And others, my friend, You said!
If that isn't murder,
What is its name?
My heart bleeds!
Is yours bleeding?
The other night
They took it, the testament
Yes, they! The burnt part of it
The part which I know not
And added it to pap
To drink and they say
It protects us against enemy attacks!
What is that?
My heart bleeds!
Is yours bleeding?
All I have to say
Is that you and I
Should put an end to this
This murdering of the Qur'an.
It is meant to be read
Not deformed!
It is meant to be acted
Not maimed!
It is meant to be lived
Not to be murdered!
Let us stop this murder
And live
And act
And read
And preach
And share
The last testament
Which is our heritage
And image
The Noble Qur'an!
But remember,
My heart bleeds
Is yours bleeding?
You are guilty!
But not only you and I
We are guilty!
Guilty of what?
I hear you query.
We are guilty of murder!
Yes, Murder!
My heart bleeds
Is yours bleeding?
On a daily basis we commit it
On an hourly basis we do it
On a minute basis we sink into it
Even every second we don't spare it.
We commit this murder
With reckless abandon.
We care not about
About its consequences.
Yet the result is written
Allover and around us!
My heart bleeds
Is yours bleeding?
We, the vicegerent of
The earth's dynamic Creator
Given the mandate
Charged with the task
Of keeping the earth sound
Are busy with murder
Every second!
My heart bleeds!
Is yours bleeding?
The earth is what it is
Because you and I
Have murdered the Qur'an
Yes! We have murdered it!
And are still murdering it!
So when we
The endtime followers
Of the last Prophet
Who bequeath unto us
This flawlessly beautiful,
Remarkably unquestionable,
Infact
Highly knowledge-filled last testament,
Have continually murdered
This life enriching
And soul changing constitution,
What hope has the world?
My heart bleeds,
Is yours bleeding?
We murder the testament
In a million and one ways.
Yes! In more ways than one.
I left it in a corner
Of my room
Dust settling on it!
You left it on a shelf
In your library.
The space very beautiful
But the testament itself,
Dusty!
We hang it in our cars
To serve as a decoration
Twisting and turning on the twine
Like a crazed club dancer!
They place it under their pillow
And their heads
On it placed every night
Protection they say
From it they have!
Are these not cases of murder?
Tell me if wrong I am!
My heart bleeds!
Is yours bleeding?
The other day You I saw
Yes, You!
Tearing out the Waqi'ah and Ya'sin
What for? Asketh I
You said you want to tie them
With thread. Isn't it?
Black and white thread you used.
To protect you
And others, my friend, You said!
If that isn't murder,
What is its name?
My heart bleeds!
Is yours bleeding?
The other night
They took it, the testament
Yes, they! The burnt part of it
The part which I know not
And added it to pap
To drink and they say
It protects us against enemy attacks!
What is that?
My heart bleeds!
Is yours bleeding?
All I have to say
Is that you and I
Should put an end to this
This murdering of the Qur'an.
It is meant to be read
Not deformed!
It is meant to be acted
Not maimed!
It is meant to be lived
Not to be murdered!
Let us stop this murder
And live
And act
And read
And preach
And share
The last testament
Which is our heritage
And image
The Noble Qur'an!
But remember,
My heart bleeds
Is yours bleeding?
Dilemma 4
This is where my dilemma comes in
I know not what to do in this case.
The mother instructed me to forgive
Forgive but not forget
Not forget that I may teach
And learn from it to all and sundry.
My wife advised that I should leave it
Leave it for HIM
WHO made me scale through and
Scale over the hurdles of life.
The younger ones
Said I should take it out
Out of my mind,
And take him back into the fold!!!
But with all these deep in my heart,
I can't take him back
But courtesy of the mother
Who I dare not disobey,
In my house he lives.
But my main house that is on fire
Is that I find it not easy
Not easy to forgive and disperse him
For not helping through all over the years.
I know not what to do!!!
This is my dilemma
And my case before thee.
Help and talk
Talk to me for I am in a serious DILEMMA!!!
I know not what to do in this case.
The mother instructed me to forgive
Forgive but not forget
Not forget that I may teach
And learn from it to all and sundry.
My wife advised that I should leave it
Leave it for HIM
WHO made me scale through and
Scale over the hurdles of life.
The younger ones
Said I should take it out
Out of my mind,
And take him back into the fold!!!
But with all these deep in my heart,
I can't take him back
But courtesy of the mother
Who I dare not disobey,
In my house he lives.
But my main house that is on fire
Is that I find it not easy
Not easy to forgive and disperse him
For not helping through all over the years.
I know not what to do!!!
This is my dilemma
And my case before thee.
Help and talk
Talk to me for I am in a serious DILEMMA!!!
Dilemma 3
Then he served his fatherland
Diligently, Conscientiously and wholeheartedly.
Suddenly again, during this,
The father went underground
Cos, as u know, it has its own
Little expenses. During and before it.
Yet, he was retained
At his place of primary assignment
Cos he was favoured by all
And among all others!!!
Hundreds of thousands he earned
As income.
The mother he took care of
Sure, she will enjoy the fruits
Of her labour, till her breath!!!
The younger ones,
Are there, feasting on him
Like a cockroach in a pit toilet!!!
He got married
To an angel of a wife
Who supported him when it was tough
When it was rough and rumbles and tumbles,
The periods before his National Service.
All was going neatly and nicely for him.
All thanks to HIM for HIS glory.
Till....
He re-surfaced again...
Who? You asked,
The father...
He re-surfaced again
After he had heard of his growth
His growth from grass to grace
From waste to wealth
A common stone to a cornerstone
A nothing to something
And a zero to a hero...
He re-surfaced from God-knows-where.
Then came him back
Back to beg for his mistakes
Mistakes he said he had committed!!!
Diligently, Conscientiously and wholeheartedly.
Suddenly again, during this,
The father went underground
Cos, as u know, it has its own
Little expenses. During and before it.
Yet, he was retained
At his place of primary assignment
Cos he was favoured by all
And among all others!!!
Hundreds of thousands he earned
As income.
The mother he took care of
Sure, she will enjoy the fruits
Of her labour, till her breath!!!
The younger ones,
Are there, feasting on him
Like a cockroach in a pit toilet!!!
He got married
To an angel of a wife
Who supported him when it was tough
When it was rough and rumbles and tumbles,
The periods before his National Service.
All was going neatly and nicely for him.
All thanks to HIM for HIS glory.
Till....
He re-surfaced again...
Who? You asked,
The father...
He re-surfaced again
After he had heard of his growth
His growth from grass to grace
From waste to wealth
A common stone to a cornerstone
A nothing to something
And a zero to a hero...
He re-surfaced from God-knows-where.
Then came him back
Back to beg for his mistakes
Mistakes he said he had committed!!!
Dilemma 2
Then I began schooling
Primary, then to secondary,
She was still there.
Where is Dad? You will query,
He, as always appears little in the pix,
Yet we lived together!!!
Jewelleries and properties of hers
She sold, that I may be educated.
Oh! She went through hell!!!
Then an Undergraduate I became.
Through and with nobody but...
Turbulent days on campus,
She was there.
Days of writing papers in hunger
She kept the support.
Weeks of trekking kilometres to school
She encouraged.
"Keep it on son,
Your younger ones are waiting
You can't afford to fail." She said.
Months of sickness and fear
She prayed fervently.
Then on a fine sunny day,
The then-stuttering-bow-legged boy
Became a graduate!!!
Another chapter of life's episode
Opened to him!
The mother was proud!
He was ecstatic!
The father was told,
He was the most joyously proud!
The young ones were inspired
They aimed to be like him!!!
Primary, then to secondary,
She was still there.
Where is Dad? You will query,
He, as always appears little in the pix,
Yet we lived together!!!
Jewelleries and properties of hers
She sold, that I may be educated.
Oh! She went through hell!!!
Then an Undergraduate I became.
Through and with nobody but...
Turbulent days on campus,
She was there.
Days of writing papers in hunger
She kept the support.
Weeks of trekking kilometres to school
She encouraged.
"Keep it on son,
Your younger ones are waiting
You can't afford to fail." She said.
Months of sickness and fear
She prayed fervently.
Then on a fine sunny day,
The then-stuttering-bow-legged boy
Became a graduate!!!
Another chapter of life's episode
Opened to him!
The mother was proud!
He was ecstatic!
The father was told,
He was the most joyously proud!
The young ones were inspired
They aimed to be like him!!!
Dilemma
Presently as I sit on this seat,
A shadow or say a flash
Of thought ran through my dark mind.
Talk of my mind,
Be it dark or say black
Or be it white or say light
I know not.
But just a feeling that
It is just dark in there!!!
Back to my thought,
The thought was a flash in the pan.
A flashback to the turbulent days
Of my growing up
With the father depositing me
In the mother,
With the mother carrying me
For months, countable though.
The birth with its attendant pain.
The crying and weeping of the mother,
Cos I was uncomfortable,
Cos I was wailing,
Cos I was wincing in pain
And she could not decipher
Which was from which was not,
Maybe, maybe not,
But All is that I winced a lot!!!
Then the trouble of crawling
Sitting at a spot for months,
Teething trouble times came
I and she was there together.
Father? Little did he appear
In the picture. He just comes on and off
Like a flailing candle.
A flailing candle in the wind he was,
Yet under the same roof we lived!!
I began stuttering
Then at last! I toddled
Then walked, ran about
With my two bow-legged feet
Yet she was there all through it.
Smiling, shouting, shying,
Weeping, wailing, wincing,
Crying, quarelling, fighting
And beating people or at people
For my sake, for me, when necessary!
Oh, my Mum!!!
A shadow or say a flash
Of thought ran through my dark mind.
Talk of my mind,
Be it dark or say black
Or be it white or say light
I know not.
But just a feeling that
It is just dark in there!!!
Back to my thought,
The thought was a flash in the pan.
A flashback to the turbulent days
Of my growing up
With the father depositing me
In the mother,
With the mother carrying me
For months, countable though.
The birth with its attendant pain.
The crying and weeping of the mother,
Cos I was uncomfortable,
Cos I was wailing,
Cos I was wincing in pain
And she could not decipher
Which was from which was not,
Maybe, maybe not,
But All is that I winced a lot!!!
Then the trouble of crawling
Sitting at a spot for months,
Teething trouble times came
I and she was there together.
Father? Little did he appear
In the picture. He just comes on and off
Like a flailing candle.
A flailing candle in the wind he was,
Yet under the same roof we lived!!
I began stuttering
Then at last! I toddled
Then walked, ran about
With my two bow-legged feet
Yet she was there all through it.
Smiling, shouting, shying,
Weeping, wailing, wincing,
Crying, quarelling, fighting
And beating people or at people
For my sake, for me, when necessary!
Oh, my Mum!!!
The Meeting.
Tunrayo was confused. She knows not what to do. Her love for Dotun is
not what can be said to be a child'splay. And this visit to her only
only brother is threatening the life and existence of their romance.
''You cannot marry Dotun.'' Dayo, her elder brother had said.
''What happened brother?'' She asked.
''Have you two met before?'' No reply from Dayo.
''All I know is that this thing you said you are into with Dotun, will not lead you into wedlock with him.'' He said and stormed out of the room.
Dotun had just sat there watching and drinking it all in. He was glued to the seat he was sitting on. He said nothing because he was speechless.
''Dotun, have you met Dayo before?'' She queried her lover of three years.
''Or should I say do you know him before? Tunrayo queried him again.
Dotun just continued his gazing, now at the ceiling, reading unwritten letters.
Out of the blues, he said
''Baby, let's go home.'' That was his first response since the begining of the episode.
All the way home silence was the king of the air between them.
Tunrayo had had enough. She was fed up of this domineering attitude of this lone blood of hers. Dayo is the father, mother, brother, and sister, in one one for her since the death of their parents and two other siblings over ten years ago in a ghastly road crash.
She has to see her pastor. He is the only one that can talk to this obstinate brother of hers. They were more than friends. Their friendship dated back as far as their days at the highly revered Holy Ghost College of Ministry which they both attended.
Yes! Pastor Soji is the solution but she has this torrent of a rain to deal with first!
...To be continued...
''You cannot marry Dotun.'' Dayo, her elder brother had said.
''What happened brother?'' She asked.
''Have you two met before?'' No reply from Dayo.
''All I know is that this thing you said you are into with Dotun, will not lead you into wedlock with him.'' He said and stormed out of the room.
Dotun had just sat there watching and drinking it all in. He was glued to the seat he was sitting on. He said nothing because he was speechless.
''Dotun, have you met Dayo before?'' She queried her lover of three years.
''Or should I say do you know him before? Tunrayo queried him again.
Dotun just continued his gazing, now at the ceiling, reading unwritten letters.
Out of the blues, he said
''Baby, let's go home.'' That was his first response since the begining of the episode.
All the way home silence was the king of the air between them.
Tunrayo had had enough. She was fed up of this domineering attitude of this lone blood of hers. Dayo is the father, mother, brother, and sister, in one one for her since the death of their parents and two other siblings over ten years ago in a ghastly road crash.
She has to see her pastor. He is the only one that can talk to this obstinate brother of hers. They were more than friends. Their friendship dated back as far as their days at the highly revered Holy Ghost College of Ministry which they both attended.
Yes! Pastor Soji is the solution but she has this torrent of a rain to deal with first!
...To be continued...
Yet Another Lament
In shambles I left you
In shambles I met you.
The shambles caused by those at home
With the help of those abroad
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
Twenty years ago
I left you my mother
Seeking greener pastures
In the land of your masters
Hoping to come back
And dry your unending tears.
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
Here I am
Made and arrived
To dry your tears.
But no
Mother my brothers
Have wrecked you.
What a wreckage
Of you
They left for me!
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
Now I know not
Where to begin from
To patch you up
Mother
With tears in my eyes
I look at your wreckage
And see you in tears!
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
Who of my brothers
Young and vibrant
Will help me bring
You back to your glorious days?
Age is not my friend
My bones are getting weak
But mother
A promise you have
From me
I will patch you up
Till my last breath!
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
In shambles I met you.
The shambles caused by those at home
With the help of those abroad
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
Twenty years ago
I left you my mother
Seeking greener pastures
In the land of your masters
Hoping to come back
And dry your unending tears.
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
Here I am
Made and arrived
To dry your tears.
But no
Mother my brothers
Have wrecked you.
What a wreckage
Of you
They left for me!
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
Now I know not
Where to begin from
To patch you up
Mother
With tears in my eyes
I look at your wreckage
And see you in tears!
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
Who of my brothers
Young and vibrant
Will help me bring
You back to your glorious days?
Age is not my friend
My bones are getting weak
But mother
A promise you have
From me
I will patch you up
Till my last breath!
Would it have been different
If I had waited?
An Experience
The true and sincere nature of man is shown by the events that takes
place in his life. It is true that man's real existence is nothing. Man
himself is nothing! All he has is nothing. Even everything around him
and indeed things surrounding him are nothing but a charade!
As I sit here in an empty school, awaiting the arrival of learners that may never come, for me to teach, I realise that I am just wastin away by the minute, rather by the second!
I left home far away in the south western part of the country, pregnant with life changing, course charting ideas that I thought to pass to the coming generation through the opportunity of the NYSC Scheme of the federal government. I was hoping an expecting real challenges that will bring out the that hidden man in me and at the same time take out the kid in the learners I hope to encounter during my stay in the hinterlands of the Eastern heartland. But these were not to be!
In the eastern heartland, I was orientated, drilled, trained, instructed in the traditional NYSC way to surmount the challenges which they say I will face in the service year. Till now, I haven't seen any, except if sleeping, eating and walking will be called challenges!
While at the orientation camp, backed by my pregnant desire to impart useful knowledge, I prayed and wished to be taken to the state capital where I know that more than enough challenges will await me and as a Lagos boy, such was already in my blood! It wasn't to happen!
Lo and behold! I was thrown into a community more than an hour an one thousand naira away from the capital city of the eastern heartland! This is a community with power supply that is as erratic as an epileptic woman. The power supply comes once every two weeks and lasts a few hours, sorry minutes! To add to it, the community, albeit, the whole local government has no potable water. To get water for anything at all, bathing and drinking inclusive, you wait for the rains or you hold your money and container and walk for miles before getting to one of the private and solitary boreholes run by individuals.
These I don't see as challenges because I expect not much from a village! The baby I am carrying in me is more than that! Impart the right values into the younger generations, it cried in me.
The P. P. A accepted me and I began to prepare for the new term and also nursing hopes that my baby has seen a good environment to be nursed. Thus, I await the birth of a new term which, then I thought, will in turn help in the birth of my ripe foetus.
I went back to the south west which housed my home to prepare things that will aid the easy delivery of this good baby in this new found environment. After that, I came back to my new 'home' to settle down and await the new term.
The Village received me well and helped me settle quickly into its too quiet and nature filled environment. I began counting hours, days, weeks, and a month! Waiting patiently for my P. P. A to open.
Finally, schools re opened and I excitedly ran from my home to the school to start the process and familiarisation of myself to my audience in whose hands my baby will grow. I got the shocker of my life, when I met rats instead of students in what should have been my school!
I panicked, went back home. I called my principal who assured me that it's just for that day. They willl show up he said. But they haven't and might even not! Why? Because they have changed their schools! The Governor of the eastern heartland declared a free education policy and so the mass exodus of students in private schools to the public schools! But this notably happened only in rural areas as private schools in the urban areas of the state still flourish. My P. P. A being private and being in a rural village, also got a part of the bullet!
Come to think of it, how much is their school fee? A paltry two thousand five hundred naira across board is what these villagers can't pay! The truth is even that the children mostly spend more than that in the preparation and actual school changing! They sewed new uniforms and bought new sandals! So I still carry my dream and I am wasting away brain draining in this village when there are hundreds of places where my baby is needed in my native south western home!
On a lighter and brighter side, my monthly NYSC is clearance is still being signed for me by the principal while I do nothing except sleep, eat and walk around! Also since religion is, as said by Karl Marx, the opium of the people, I take it as a divine act to be here and learn that really, man cannot, all the time architect his own fortune or otherwise!
As I hear the principal's car approach, I pray to my God, Who knows all things, for a miracle to happen and that students will come and I will be able to deliver what I have for them!
As I sit here in an empty school, awaiting the arrival of learners that may never come, for me to teach, I realise that I am just wastin away by the minute, rather by the second!
I left home far away in the south western part of the country, pregnant with life changing, course charting ideas that I thought to pass to the coming generation through the opportunity of the NYSC Scheme of the federal government. I was hoping an expecting real challenges that will bring out the that hidden man in me and at the same time take out the kid in the learners I hope to encounter during my stay in the hinterlands of the Eastern heartland. But these were not to be!
In the eastern heartland, I was orientated, drilled, trained, instructed in the traditional NYSC way to surmount the challenges which they say I will face in the service year. Till now, I haven't seen any, except if sleeping, eating and walking will be called challenges!
While at the orientation camp, backed by my pregnant desire to impart useful knowledge, I prayed and wished to be taken to the state capital where I know that more than enough challenges will await me and as a Lagos boy, such was already in my blood! It wasn't to happen!
Lo and behold! I was thrown into a community more than an hour an one thousand naira away from the capital city of the eastern heartland! This is a community with power supply that is as erratic as an epileptic woman. The power supply comes once every two weeks and lasts a few hours, sorry minutes! To add to it, the community, albeit, the whole local government has no potable water. To get water for anything at all, bathing and drinking inclusive, you wait for the rains or you hold your money and container and walk for miles before getting to one of the private and solitary boreholes run by individuals.
These I don't see as challenges because I expect not much from a village! The baby I am carrying in me is more than that! Impart the right values into the younger generations, it cried in me.
The P. P. A accepted me and I began to prepare for the new term and also nursing hopes that my baby has seen a good environment to be nursed. Thus, I await the birth of a new term which, then I thought, will in turn help in the birth of my ripe foetus.
I went back to the south west which housed my home to prepare things that will aid the easy delivery of this good baby in this new found environment. After that, I came back to my new 'home' to settle down and await the new term.
The Village received me well and helped me settle quickly into its too quiet and nature filled environment. I began counting hours, days, weeks, and a month! Waiting patiently for my P. P. A to open.
Finally, schools re opened and I excitedly ran from my home to the school to start the process and familiarisation of myself to my audience in whose hands my baby will grow. I got the shocker of my life, when I met rats instead of students in what should have been my school!
I panicked, went back home. I called my principal who assured me that it's just for that day. They willl show up he said. But they haven't and might even not! Why? Because they have changed their schools! The Governor of the eastern heartland declared a free education policy and so the mass exodus of students in private schools to the public schools! But this notably happened only in rural areas as private schools in the urban areas of the state still flourish. My P. P. A being private and being in a rural village, also got a part of the bullet!
Come to think of it, how much is their school fee? A paltry two thousand five hundred naira across board is what these villagers can't pay! The truth is even that the children mostly spend more than that in the preparation and actual school changing! They sewed new uniforms and bought new sandals! So I still carry my dream and I am wasting away brain draining in this village when there are hundreds of places where my baby is needed in my native south western home!
On a lighter and brighter side, my monthly NYSC is clearance is still being signed for me by the principal while I do nothing except sleep, eat and walk around! Also since religion is, as said by Karl Marx, the opium of the people, I take it as a divine act to be here and learn that really, man cannot, all the time architect his own fortune or otherwise!
As I hear the principal's car approach, I pray to my God, Who knows all things, for a miracle to happen and that students will come and I will be able to deliver what I have for them!
Here I Am...
Here I am...
.. Helpless...
Looking up for help
But finds none
... For help that exists not..
... For help that comes not..
Here I am...
... Poor...
.. But surrounded by affluence
.. But surrounded by wealth
.. Wealth that is mine
.. But I can't use
.. Wealth that has been taken from me..
.. Not legally
By those who...
Poor I am..
Helpless I am..
Wealth I see
But can't touch..
Affluence I feel
But can't use..
Here I really am..
Helpless and poor.
But note...
... Hopeless I am not..
For I know that...
Help cometh soon..
Wealth comes after..
Affluence follow will..
.. But when...
I know not...
Looking up for help
But finds none
... For help that exists not..
... For help that comes not..
Here I am...
... Poor...
.. But surrounded by affluence
.. But surrounded by wealth
.. Wealth that is mine
.. But I can't use
.. Wealth that has been taken from me..
.. Not legally
By those who...
Poor I am..
Helpless I am..
Wealth I see
But can't touch..
Affluence I feel
But can't use..
Here I really am..
Helpless and poor.
But note...
... Hopeless I am not..
For I know that...
Help cometh soon..
Wealth comes after..
Affluence follow will..
.. But when...
I know not...
Another Lament
Regret and tears fill
My sunken and wrinkled eyes
As my withering body
With my bent back
Never to be straightened!
As I know that the grave
Is near me than never
Regret filled my slowly beating heart!
As I look at the young ones
Running innocently around
Crying for their mothers milk
And the adults
Returning from the farms
Bearing the heavy fruits
Of the days labour
And homeward they
Plow their weary way
Regret fill the hollow of my wasted years!
As the sun is setting
With the moon shining
And the mortars pounding
And the babies chuckling
And the kids laughing
And the men drinking
I could not but weep
That Africa has lost a lot
And regret that I
The last of my generation
Will soon go
Leaving nothing but tales!
My sunken and wrinkled eyes
As my withering body
With my bent back
Never to be straightened!
As I know that the grave
Is near me than never
Regret filled my slowly beating heart!
As I look at the young ones
Running innocently around
Crying for their mothers milk
And the adults
Returning from the farms
Bearing the heavy fruits
Of the days labour
And homeward they
Plow their weary way
Regret fill the hollow of my wasted years!
As the sun is setting
With the moon shining
And the mortars pounding
And the babies chuckling
And the kids laughing
And the men drinking
I could not but weep
That Africa has lost a lot
And regret that I
The last of my generation
Will soon go
Leaving nothing but tales!
Hope?
Sing for me
A Song
... A song of hope!
Sing for me
A song
... Different from this
Which I hear everyday!
What song do I hear
On a daily basis?
You query...
... I hear
A Song of pain
A Song of bondage
A Song of anarchy
A Song of deceit
A Song of fear
A Song of hunger
And Songs...
Of POVERTY!!!
Songs of poverty
Amidst plenty...
Songs of the poor
Amidst the rich.
songs whose tunes
turns a man to a goat
songs whose tunes
makes the husband's sigh
seem to you like the
belated bleating of a hungry goat
albeit the piercing moo
of a cow
hit by the fulani's staff...
The same song
Whose tunes turns the
Woman to a hen.
She asks her sighing husband
The reason for his sigh
But because she is hit
By the same bullet
She clucks like a hen
Hot in heat!
Can anybody sing to me?
...A song of hope.
A song which will
Ease the pain of my people...
...A song of hope.
A song which will
Ease the burning in my heart...
...A song of hope.
A song which will
Bring salvation to my kindred...
...A song of hope.
A song which will
Bring smiles to our smileless faces...
Is there any
Out there with such a song?
If there is...
Let (s)he come fast and furious
With the songs
Accompaniments let him bother not
About. Lots of them have we!
Just come
Come along to us
With the song.
Ready are we
With instruments
And vocals.
Just come
To sing for us
... A song of hope!!!
A Song
... A song of hope!
Sing for me
A song
... Different from this
Which I hear everyday!
What song do I hear
On a daily basis?
You query...
... I hear
A Song of pain
A Song of bondage
A Song of anarchy
A Song of deceit
A Song of fear
A Song of hunger
And Songs...
Of POVERTY!!!
Songs of poverty
Amidst plenty...
Songs of the poor
Amidst the rich.
songs whose tunes
turns a man to a goat
songs whose tunes
makes the husband's sigh
seem to you like the
belated bleating of a hungry goat
albeit the piercing moo
of a cow
hit by the fulani's staff...
The same song
Whose tunes turns the
Woman to a hen.
She asks her sighing husband
The reason for his sigh
But because she is hit
By the same bullet
She clucks like a hen
Hot in heat!
Can anybody sing to me?
...A song of hope.
A song which will
Ease the pain of my people...
...A song of hope.
A song which will
Ease the burning in my heart...
...A song of hope.
A song which will
Bring salvation to my kindred...
...A song of hope.
A song which will
Bring smiles to our smileless faces...
Is there any
Out there with such a song?
If there is...
Let (s)he come fast and furious
With the songs
Accompaniments let him bother not
About. Lots of them have we!
Just come
Come along to us
With the song.
Ready are we
With instruments
And vocals.
Just come
To sing for us
... A song of hope!!!
The Scare 5
Then when you thought of the right way to end it all, it flashed through
your mind that you had donated blood to the N.B.T.S while you were at
the Orientation Camp. That was three months earlier than now, you said
to me. The next date for your donation is this present month. How you
wish you had money! You still had not been paid! Why is everything or
everyone conniving to punish you? You queried me. The donation centre
was not very close to you at all. But you had no option but to wait for
money to come in. You said you would ask them about the result of your
last donation. This will let you know if it is true or not, you had
said. At least you had hope, you thought- A little ray of hope!
Then at last you were paid! You ran to the Centre. There you were told that your last donation had been used and that you were 'CLEAN'! You couldn't believe your ears! There and then your soaring B. P drastically dropped and you laughed. A hearty and throaty laugh. Your first in weeks! They didn't know and didn't understand and you didn't tell them why. You donated again, left and thanked God, your Creator that you were free. You prayed to Him to make remain so. But all the way home, you were happy and glad that it was nothing but a SCARE!!!
Then at last you were paid! You ran to the Centre. There you were told that your last donation had been used and that you were 'CLEAN'! You couldn't believe your ears! There and then your soaring B. P drastically dropped and you laughed. A hearty and throaty laugh. Your first in weeks! They didn't know and didn't understand and you didn't tell them why. You donated again, left and thanked God, your Creator that you were free. You prayed to Him to make remain so. But all the way home, you were happy and glad that it was nothing but a SCARE!!!
The Scare 4
Then you remembered that you left her when you found your hearthrob. You
were old enough to have one, you had said. That other girl forced
herself on you, you had also said. Moreover, this is the lady you want
to get married to, I could remember you saying again. Your first and
last love you had called her, the girl, sorry, the woman you want to
spend the rest of your life with, I could also remember you had said
when you met her. That also was before you became a corper. You had done
some things with her too but not ''sleeping with things''. Could it be
from her too? You had queried me.
But you had your own clipper and cutting things, you do not share them with anybody, so how on earth could you had gotten it? You wondered mostly aloud when you were alone. People see you as normal but you know that something is burning right under your cloaks! Your B. P. was on the rise. Migraine came in. You contemplated suicide. All because of that result! You couldn't have it, it couldn't be true, you had always thought. You were straight, you haven't slept with a woman in your life, apart from those mistakes, you had always been careful with ladies and other things, you had said!
But you had your own clipper and cutting things, you do not share them with anybody, so how on earth could you had gotten it? You wondered mostly aloud when you were alone. People see you as normal but you know that something is burning right under your cloaks! Your B. P. was on the rise. Migraine came in. You contemplated suicide. All because of that result! You couldn't have it, it couldn't be true, you had always thought. You were straight, you haven't slept with a woman in your life, apart from those mistakes, you had always been careful with ladies and other things, you had said!
The Scare3
You took the test with the corps member on that cold and rainy day. She
took a drop of your blood on this chemical coated cardboard that had
been made for the purpose of that testing. Minutes later, she wrote
something on a small piece of paper, gave it to you and said that it is
your result. You looked at it and was shockfounded. I saw it on your
face that what she wrote was Positive! You asked her why but she said
that that was what she could read on the test cardboard and advised that
you go to a lab for confirmation or otherwise. You couldn't believe
your ears but you thanked her and left the room!
Then you became troubled. You couldn't rush to a lab because you had no money! You had no money because you had not been paid your monthly allowance. You started thinking. Could it be true? Could there be a mistake? There had to be a mistake. But where could you have gotten it, you asked me, as if I know. Then you remembered your little mistake after your final exams before you became a corper. That girl in your area! That girl who was head over heels in love or lust with you! That girl who was desperate to have you! That girl you almost slept with! Almost doesn't kill a bird, so they say. But you didn't sleep with her but you kissed, smooched and romanced her! Could you have bitten her during one of your kisses? You were confused. Your heart beat like a frenzied drum in the hands of a mad drummer!
Then you became troubled. You couldn't rush to a lab because you had no money! You had no money because you had not been paid your monthly allowance. You started thinking. Could it be true? Could there be a mistake? There had to be a mistake. But where could you have gotten it, you asked me, as if I know. Then you remembered your little mistake after your final exams before you became a corper. That girl in your area! That girl who was head over heels in love or lust with you! That girl who was desperate to have you! That girl you almost slept with! Almost doesn't kill a bird, so they say. But you didn't sleep with her but you kissed, smooched and romanced her! Could you have bitten her during one of your kisses? You were confused. Your heart beat like a frenzied drum in the hands of a mad drummer!
The Scare 2
All along you have been hearing of the scourge called HIV/AIDS. You were
well aware of it. You were not ignorant of it, but it did not bother
you for a minute. It can't come to you, you had said to me one day. You
had always been straight and careful and I never disputed with you. You
also added that you were a voluntary blood donor, a fact which was never
hidden from me. So you never cared a hoot about it and lived your life
the way you had been living it.
Then you graduated! That day you were ecstatic! Later on, you were called up for the National Service. You were now called a Corper! Nobody cared to know your real name. You were posted far away from home, the first time in your life. You began service to your fatherland still holding to your previous mentality about the opposite sex!
Then one day, your C. L. O. (Corpers' Liason Officer) was announcing that there was this corps member who is conducting HIV test for her fellow corpers, one of which you were. He had said that it is good for you all to know your status in order to protect yourselves. There and then brimming with confidence, you raised your hand that you want to be tested. Nobody except you wanted to be tested! You were so confident that the result would be negative!!!
Then you graduated! That day you were ecstatic! Later on, you were called up for the National Service. You were now called a Corper! Nobody cared to know your real name. You were posted far away from home, the first time in your life. You began service to your fatherland still holding to your previous mentality about the opposite sex!
Then one day, your C. L. O. (Corpers' Liason Officer) was announcing that there was this corps member who is conducting HIV test for her fellow corpers, one of which you were. He had said that it is good for you all to know your status in order to protect yourselves. There and then brimming with confidence, you raised your hand that you want to be tested. Nobody except you wanted to be tested! You were so confident that the result would be negative!!!
The Scare
You had beeen warned several times about its reality. You had been told
that it had engulfed millions and it is still ravagin hundreds of
territories. Yet you turned a deaf ear to it. Until...
You had grown up a very careful boy and a wellgroomed lad. An obedient and trustworthy boy you had been all through your growing years, I mean your primary school. Your secondary school years were not so different. You remained your careful self. The type they called ''mummy's boy''. You were always afraid of anything that goes beyond the playmate level with girls. You were naiive when it comes to that sensitive issue of sex. Your mother must not hear of it, You often say to your randy friends.
Then you, the mummy's boy got into the University! You were now the cynosure of all feminine eyes. The ladies tower around you. It is not difficult and it was not surprising to me. You had the looks and the brains needed not the cash! They all buzz around you for different reasons. They were mainly your coursemates and a little faculty mates. All with beautiful bodies and great faces that turn many a head. Still you kept your cool. You took them one at a time, helped with their courses and nothing more than that. Various gratifications were offered but you only took the cash ones. The kinds, you left. Tongues wagged about you that you 'can't do' but you paid no attention to them. You were still your mummy's boy!
You had grown up a very careful boy and a wellgroomed lad. An obedient and trustworthy boy you had been all through your growing years, I mean your primary school. Your secondary school years were not so different. You remained your careful self. The type they called ''mummy's boy''. You were always afraid of anything that goes beyond the playmate level with girls. You were naiive when it comes to that sensitive issue of sex. Your mother must not hear of it, You often say to your randy friends.
Then you, the mummy's boy got into the University! You were now the cynosure of all feminine eyes. The ladies tower around you. It is not difficult and it was not surprising to me. You had the looks and the brains needed not the cash! They all buzz around you for different reasons. They were mainly your coursemates and a little faculty mates. All with beautiful bodies and great faces that turn many a head. Still you kept your cool. You took them one at a time, helped with their courses and nothing more than that. Various gratifications were offered but you only took the cash ones. The kinds, you left. Tongues wagged about you that you 'can't do' but you paid no attention to them. You were still your mummy's boy!
On My Deathbed
My death is near
It is sure and certain
That out of this bed
I shall not get!
But
A lot I have to say
Yet
I say so little!
The world I met
In peace
But the world
I strove
To leave in peace!
Peace I see not
As I am departing
Chaos!
War!
Trouble!
Turmoil!
Upheaval!
Hypocrisy!
Fights!
Duels!
Lies!
Deceit!
Crime!
All ending in death untimely!
Poverty!
Revolution!
Suffering!
Cheating!
Castigation!
Mudslinging!
All around the world!
Them I grew in
And they I am leaving
Behind!
I have done mine best
And I am expired!
Tired!
Wasted!
Spent!
Used!
Hence I am going!
But
Cry not for me!
Shed not blood for me!
Nor weep for me!
Rather
Squeeze your best
And make the world
Better than this!
Than I left it...
And
The man died...
It is sure and certain
That out of this bed
I shall not get!
But
A lot I have to say
Yet
I say so little!
The world I met
In peace
But the world
I strove
To leave in peace!
Peace I see not
As I am departing
Chaos!
War!
Trouble!
Turmoil!
Upheaval!
Hypocrisy!
Fights!
Duels!
Lies!
Deceit!
Crime!
All ending in death untimely!
Poverty!
Revolution!
Suffering!
Cheating!
Castigation!
Mudslinging!
All around the world!
Them I grew in
And they I am leaving
Behind!
I have done mine best
And I am expired!
Tired!
Wasted!
Spent!
Used!
Hence I am going!
But
Cry not for me!
Shed not blood for me!
Nor weep for me!
Rather
Squeeze your best
And make the world
Better than this!
Than I left it...
And
The man died...
The Meeting.
The Meeting. Cont'd
The
goods that a man does will forever follow him, so are his bads. Dotun
remembered the common saying he had heard over and over again. His deeds
in his secondary school days, nay his remedial classes days, are now
hot on his heels. They are torturing him presently. They want to rob hin
of his joy, the only joy he has, Tunrayo!
''But I am a changed man'', he thought to himself. ''Dayo should let me have my peace'', he said aloud. Another voice in his mind told him again that Dayo doesn't know of the change yet.
''What if he knows, will he accept?'' Yet another query.
''Had I known...'' the normal phrase of self reproach rang from his lips.
As he remembered his errors that were once things of pride to him, and which were now threatening the existence of his peace, Dotun never knew when the tears began flowing. Tears of what? Regret?
''But I am a changed man'', he thought to himself. ''Dayo should let me have my peace'', he said aloud. Another voice in his mind told him again that Dayo doesn't know of the change yet.
''What if he knows, will he accept?'' Yet another query.
''Had I known...'' the normal phrase of self reproach rang from his lips.
As he remembered his errors that were once things of pride to him, and which were now threatening the existence of his peace, Dotun never knew when the tears began flowing. Tears of what? Regret?
The Meeting.
The Meeting! (Cont'd)
May 24, 2013 at 3:57pm
Tola
and Bayo, had no engagements in school and had been very sad to leave
their siblings at home. But they were comforted by the fact that Akure
was a new place to explore. So they were the first to jump into the car,
after church, on sunday morning, after chatting with and consoling
their despondent siblings and promising to bring them news and possible
mementoes from the ancient city of Idanre, where their parents had said
they would spend a whole day.
''Bye bye big bros and baby sis,'' said Tola.
''I have told you I am not a baby again, I'm now a big girl.'' Protested Tunrayo.
''Bye bye mum, bye bye dad. Tola and Bayo, take care!'' chorused the two left alones as the car eased onto the main road out of the gate.
Tunrayo had tears in her eyes.
Dejo disliked having Mike drive his family anywhere outside Lagos. The driver, he had said, had a penchant for driving carelessly. So on this trip of the family holiday, as the previous ones, Mike was to take a week off work and resume the following week. But he will take Dayo and Tunrayo to their places of engagements with the family's other car, a Mercedes Benz 230.
The glasses of the car were all rolled up as the air conditioner hums noiselessly. Kirk Franklin was singing 'Revolution' at a medium volume from the car's stereo. The children were sitting and chatting away animatedly at the back. Their mother was in her usual place, the front of the car, with her husband.
They were travelling on the ever busy Lagos Ibadan expressway notorious for its overspeeding, rickety, fuel carrying tankers with insolent drivers and long vehicles carrying various things ranging from cement to unguarded and heavy containers.
They were on a road reknowned for its life claiming abilities!
(to be cont'd)
''Bye bye big bros and baby sis,'' said Tola.
''I have told you I am not a baby again, I'm now a big girl.'' Protested Tunrayo.
''Bye bye mum, bye bye dad. Tola and Bayo, take care!'' chorused the two left alones as the car eased onto the main road out of the gate.
Tunrayo had tears in her eyes.
Dejo disliked having Mike drive his family anywhere outside Lagos. The driver, he had said, had a penchant for driving carelessly. So on this trip of the family holiday, as the previous ones, Mike was to take a week off work and resume the following week. But he will take Dayo and Tunrayo to their places of engagements with the family's other car, a Mercedes Benz 230.
The glasses of the car were all rolled up as the air conditioner hums noiselessly. Kirk Franklin was singing 'Revolution' at a medium volume from the car's stereo. The children were sitting and chatting away animatedly at the back. Their mother was in her usual place, the front of the car, with her husband.
They were travelling on the ever busy Lagos Ibadan expressway notorious for its overspeeding, rickety, fuel carrying tankers with insolent drivers and long vehicles carrying various things ranging from cement to unguarded and heavy containers.
They were on a road reknowned for its life claiming abilities!
(to be cont'd)
The Refugees
The Refugees
Here we are
Soaked in hunger
Dressed in thirst
Drenched rags
Fear, our pillow
Neglect, friend...
Then...
Our land yields peace
We sleep with eyes closed
We snore
And leave doors open...
Later...
Came the gendarmes
Guns booming
Shrapnels tearing
Bombs tearing
Shrill cries
Rending the airs
Bulldozing us into corners
Of submission
Blindly we ran
Leaving our all
Forcefully
Tearfully
Painfully
Exiting our homes
Lands
Savings
To a future uncertain...
Now...
We are in a forgotten corner
Once said to be
A citadel of intellectuals
Roof it has not
Diseases eat us up
Yet they say
We are lucky to be here
I ask
Is death not
Better than these?
We can't die
They say...
Aid is coming
when?
Soon it has been
Since we got here
Years ago!
But we can't
Go
Move
Run
Anywhere...
We have to wait
Here...
And wait
And hope
And have faith
With them
For help...
Cos...
We are...
... Refugees...
Nigeria: A Comedy
Nigeria: A Comedy! (dedicated to Naija, my countree)
Naija, I hail o
A house horrorful than
The Hammer house of horror!
Naija, I hail o
An animal dreadful than
The dreaded white shark!
Naija, I hail o
A den of animallike humans
Who prey on all preyables!
Naija, I hail o
The home of impersonation
At its peak..
The den of corruption
At its best...
The hearthrob of religious bigotry
At its purest...
The lover of insecurity
At its highest...
The house of crimes
At its rawest...
The sweetheart of deception
At its masterpiece...
The friend of political acrimony
At its baddest....
The all in all of things
Better left unsaid
At its various unsaid forms...
Naija, I hail o
A marriage of convenience
By the British
Now a kid
Of inconveniencies and anarchy....
Naija, I hail o
Where everything thought
To be impossible is done
With a malevolent frangrance!
To the amazement
Of all and sundry!
Naija, I hail o
Where few enjoy
And the most suffer
Yet
Tonnes of smiles
Flood every face you can see!
Naija, I hail o
Where I keep wondering
When will it all change?
A house horrorful than
The Hammer house of horror!
Naija, I hail o
An animal dreadful than
The dreaded white shark!
Naija, I hail o
A den of animallike humans
Who prey on all preyables!
Naija, I hail o
The home of impersonation
At its peak..
The den of corruption
At its best...
The hearthrob of religious bigotry
At its purest...
The lover of insecurity
At its highest...
The house of crimes
At its rawest...
The sweetheart of deception
At its masterpiece...
The friend of political acrimony
At its baddest....
The all in all of things
Better left unsaid
At its various unsaid forms...
Naija, I hail o
A marriage of convenience
By the British
Now a kid
Of inconveniencies and anarchy....
Naija, I hail o
Where everything thought
To be impossible is done
With a malevolent frangrance!
To the amazement
Of all and sundry!
Naija, I hail o
Where few enjoy
And the most suffer
Yet
Tonnes of smiles
Flood every face you can see!
Naija, I hail o
Where I keep wondering
When will it all change?
The Cleanser
The Cleanser...
The crimes are innumerable
The sins uncountable...
My iniquities
.... Obvious and hidden!
Yet...
He sent it to cleanse me!!!
Ramadhaan....
My lies drown me
Truths scarce on my lips...
My eyes yield not water
When the verses are read...
Yet...
.... He sent it to cleanse me!!
Ramadhaan....
His fear come and go
In me like Nigeria's NEPA
Salaat I skip
Joining when convenient
Or left alone
Citing tiredness...
Adhkar undone...
.. The Testament unread...
Yet...
He sent it to cleanse me...
... Ramadhaan!!!
Nollywood my company
Till the daybreaks
Tahajjud killed...
Subhi... Meets me on bed...
... Yet
.. He sent it to cleanse me
.... Ramadhaan!!!
Cleanse me Oh Allaah
Forgive me...
Radiate me in light...
Shower me....
And preserve me...
For...
In...
During...
After....
The Blessed Ramadhaan....
And kill me
Take me
End me....
As a Forgiven Muslim...
Cos...
" ... Die not
Except as a Muslim..."
The sins uncountable...
My iniquities
.... Obvious and hidden!
Yet...
He sent it to cleanse me!!!
Ramadhaan....
My lies drown me
Truths scarce on my lips...
My eyes yield not water
When the verses are read...
Yet...
.... He sent it to cleanse me!!
Ramadhaan....
His fear come and go
In me like Nigeria's NEPA
Salaat I skip
Joining when convenient
Or left alone
Citing tiredness...
Adhkar undone...
.. The Testament unread...
Yet...
He sent it to cleanse me...
... Ramadhaan!!!
Nollywood my company
Till the daybreaks
Tahajjud killed...
Subhi... Meets me on bed...
... Yet
.. He sent it to cleanse me
.... Ramadhaan!!!
Cleanse me Oh Allaah
Forgive me...
Radiate me in light...
Shower me....
And preserve me...
For...
In...
During...
After....
The Blessed Ramadhaan....
And kill me
Take me
End me....
As a Forgiven Muslim...
Cos...
" ... Die not
Except as a Muslim..."
The Meeting.
The Meeting! (Cont'd)
A familiar voice in the car brought him out of his reverie. It was one of the children.
'' Dad, where are we now?'' Tola's voice rang out.
'' Don't mind him daddy, I've told him that we are at the Redemption Camp.'' Bayo said.
'' Both of you are wrong,'' intoned their mother, Funmi. '' We are now in Ogere.''
The two children do not know much outside Lagos state where the had spent all their days, including the previous family holidays.
'' Isn't that Grandma's hometown?'' queried Bayo, the younger of the two children.
'' Yes, it is and that was where I grew up before your Grandma's death,'' answered Dejo for the first time since they left home over an hour ago.
'' How I wish Grandma was still alive, so that we can visit the Ogere town.''
They never knew their paternal grandmother, who had died since their father was a teenager.
'' I will take you all there, one day,'' Dejo said. '' I still know one or two people and places there,'' he concluded.
'' Maybe we plan towards next year's holiday.'' Funmi said.
'' What do you say to that Sweetheart?''
'' Let's see as it goes.''
Then, the children minded their busines and left him to face his driving.
'' I am thinking of the children, you know,'' said Dejo.
'' Same here dear. But Madam Ikeolu will take good care of them. Besides, Dayo isn't a kid, he will take care of his sister.'' Funmi replied.
'' I am just a little worried. But very soon, he will heading to the university.''
With that, he rested the case to tackle the remaining distance between Ogere and Ibadan where they will have a stopover before heading for the Oriental Hotel, Akure, where they are booked into the family suite.
'' Dad, where are we now?'' Tola's voice rang out.
'' Don't mind him daddy, I've told him that we are at the Redemption Camp.'' Bayo said.
'' Both of you are wrong,'' intoned their mother, Funmi. '' We are now in Ogere.''
The two children do not know much outside Lagos state where the had spent all their days, including the previous family holidays.
'' Isn't that Grandma's hometown?'' queried Bayo, the younger of the two children.
'' Yes, it is and that was where I grew up before your Grandma's death,'' answered Dejo for the first time since they left home over an hour ago.
'' How I wish Grandma was still alive, so that we can visit the Ogere town.''
They never knew their paternal grandmother, who had died since their father was a teenager.
'' I will take you all there, one day,'' Dejo said. '' I still know one or two people and places there,'' he concluded.
'' Maybe we plan towards next year's holiday.'' Funmi said.
'' What do you say to that Sweetheart?''
'' Let's see as it goes.''
Then, the children minded their busines and left him to face his driving.
'' I am thinking of the children, you know,'' said Dejo.
'' Same here dear. But Madam Ikeolu will take good care of them. Besides, Dayo isn't a kid, he will take care of his sister.'' Funmi replied.
'' I am just a little worried. But very soon, he will heading to the university.''
With that, he rested the case to tackle the remaining distance between Ogere and Ibadan where they will have a stopover before heading for the Oriental Hotel, Akure, where they are booked into the family suite.
The Meeting!
The Meeting! (Cont'd)
The
driving had been smooth, if that word could be used, and barring the
occasional bump on the road. Dejo was never afraid on any highway
because he believed in and remembers his first lesson, on road safety,
at the driving school, 'you are the only sane road user, every other
ones are insane', so carefulness is his watchword whenever he is on the
wheels.
'' The government ought to restrict the movement of these heavy duty vehicles on our highways to the night alone. They pose serious dangers to smaller vehicles.'' Funmi spat out.
This was as Dejo overtook an unruly tanker driver.
'' We have said that lots of times, only God will let them heed our cries.''
Just as he said that a long vehicle with an unguarded and unbridled loaded 6ft container came into view. The container it was carrying danced dangerously on its back as the driver sped along.
'' See that one now,'' said Funmi, '' that container could fall at anytime, only God knows what he had drunk before hitting the road.''
That was said as they came nearer to it. Dejo slowed down to a minimal level behind it because another tanker was snaking along beside the long vehicle making overtaking impossible.
The driver of the long vehicle saw the pothole too late. As he swerved to his left side to avoid the hole, the container he carried skidded off the vehicle's back and landed on a car behind it!
The car that was waiting for it to leave before overtaking. The car was crushed under the container's weight.
The Camry was carrying Dejo and his family. They never reached Ibadan for their stopover!
'' The government ought to restrict the movement of these heavy duty vehicles on our highways to the night alone. They pose serious dangers to smaller vehicles.'' Funmi spat out.
This was as Dejo overtook an unruly tanker driver.
'' We have said that lots of times, only God will let them heed our cries.''
Just as he said that a long vehicle with an unguarded and unbridled loaded 6ft container came into view. The container it was carrying danced dangerously on its back as the driver sped along.
'' See that one now,'' said Funmi, '' that container could fall at anytime, only God knows what he had drunk before hitting the road.''
That was said as they came nearer to it. Dejo slowed down to a minimal level behind it because another tanker was snaking along beside the long vehicle making overtaking impossible.
The driver of the long vehicle saw the pothole too late. As he swerved to his left side to avoid the hole, the container he carried skidded off the vehicle's back and landed on a car behind it!
The car that was waiting for it to leave before overtaking. The car was crushed under the container's weight.
The Camry was carrying Dejo and his family. They never reached Ibadan for their stopover!
The Meeting.
Sympathisers had gathered at the scene of the accident and started
frantic and feeble rescue works before the arrival of the Police and
other emergency rescue teams.
The driver of the long vehicle was too stunned to flee. He stood rooted to the spot as he beheld the gravity of what the container he was carrying had done. Noone had his time, he could have fled if his mind had told him so. He was later taken to the hospital where he was treated for shock and then into Police custody for questioning and possible prosecution.
By the time the container was moved from its place on top of the Camry, life has been snuffed out of the four occupants of the vehicle. The sympathisers have been hoping for a sort of miracle but their hopes were rudely dashed. Dejo's head was crushed while Funmi sprawled lifelessly on her seat with her seat crushing the legs of Bayo who was covered in blood and could be hardly distinguishable from the also fairly crushed Tola who had been cut in several places by ragged pieces of the car's metal components. Pieces of shattered glass could be picked from all the four bodies as all had been cut in many places by them.
The bodies were taken to a nearby private hospital and later the morgue at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu.
The wreck of the car was taken to a nearby Police station and was searched to aid the identification and contact of the occupants of the ill fated car. The Constable assigned to do that found Dejo's wallet containing several business cards and wads of Naira and Dollar currencies. He was tempted to pocket some Dollar notes before entering the contents in the Police inventory book.
''This man get money o! But the money no go useful for am again now,'' he thought to himself.
''If I take small dem no go know jare'' he concluded, ready to slip some into his pocket.
As he was about ppcketing the notes, a superior officer who had been watching him all along without his knowledge suddenly barked.
''If you remove anything from that purse eh, na that kind death you go die. You foolish thing!''
The Constable did not want to die such a hot death, so he changed his mind, though reluctantly, and faced his business.
They also found his mobile phone, but it had been badly crushed that it was difficult to decipher its make or model. The children's snacks, bags, food items, and other junks were also unearthed from the wreck. As they were about giving up the search, the Inspector in charge decided to take a last look around and he checked under the front seat where Funmi had sat.
He found Funmi's new Nokia C1 phone, nothing happened to it!
''Now,'' thought the Inspector, ''is the time to give somebody a bad news.''
He scrolled through her contacts and found a lot of numbers. Some were not clear in relationship, some were business partners, her stylist, her tailor, while others were ambiguous.
But a number stood out and the name above it said 'My Brother in law'. Inspector Kolawole checked her account balance and discovered that there was more than enough airtime, so he decided to use her phone. He breathed in and out and set about calling the numbers.
''This is another part of job I hate doing, but sha, the show must go on.'' He said to himself as he pressed the 'send/call' button on Funmi Akinola's phone.
The driver of the long vehicle was too stunned to flee. He stood rooted to the spot as he beheld the gravity of what the container he was carrying had done. Noone had his time, he could have fled if his mind had told him so. He was later taken to the hospital where he was treated for shock and then into Police custody for questioning and possible prosecution.
By the time the container was moved from its place on top of the Camry, life has been snuffed out of the four occupants of the vehicle. The sympathisers have been hoping for a sort of miracle but their hopes were rudely dashed. Dejo's head was crushed while Funmi sprawled lifelessly on her seat with her seat crushing the legs of Bayo who was covered in blood and could be hardly distinguishable from the also fairly crushed Tola who had been cut in several places by ragged pieces of the car's metal components. Pieces of shattered glass could be picked from all the four bodies as all had been cut in many places by them.
The bodies were taken to a nearby private hospital and later the morgue at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu.
The wreck of the car was taken to a nearby Police station and was searched to aid the identification and contact of the occupants of the ill fated car. The Constable assigned to do that found Dejo's wallet containing several business cards and wads of Naira and Dollar currencies. He was tempted to pocket some Dollar notes before entering the contents in the Police inventory book.
''This man get money o! But the money no go useful for am again now,'' he thought to himself.
''If I take small dem no go know jare'' he concluded, ready to slip some into his pocket.
As he was about ppcketing the notes, a superior officer who had been watching him all along without his knowledge suddenly barked.
''If you remove anything from that purse eh, na that kind death you go die. You foolish thing!''
The Constable did not want to die such a hot death, so he changed his mind, though reluctantly, and faced his business.
They also found his mobile phone, but it had been badly crushed that it was difficult to decipher its make or model. The children's snacks, bags, food items, and other junks were also unearthed from the wreck. As they were about giving up the search, the Inspector in charge decided to take a last look around and he checked under the front seat where Funmi had sat.
He found Funmi's new Nokia C1 phone, nothing happened to it!
''Now,'' thought the Inspector, ''is the time to give somebody a bad news.''
He scrolled through her contacts and found a lot of numbers. Some were not clear in relationship, some were business partners, her stylist, her tailor, while others were ambiguous.
But a number stood out and the name above it said 'My Brother in law'. Inspector Kolawole checked her account balance and discovered that there was more than enough airtime, so he decided to use her phone. He breathed in and out and set about calling the numbers.
''This is another part of job I hate doing, but sha, the show must go on.'' He said to himself as he pressed the 'send/call' button on Funmi Akinola's phone.
Cry
Cry!
Cry, My beloved country!
The land of hope...
The land of milk and honey
The land of people
Great and mighty....
Cry, My beloved country
The home of peace unequalled
The home of people intelligent
A marriage of incompatible spouses...
Cry, My beloved country
The boat which rocks in the tide
Yet capsizes not...
The scrotum of the ram
Which dangles dangerously
Yet it falls not....
Why?
Are we here...
Why?
Are we plundering...
Why?
Are we this way...
When?
Shall we be saved...
Thus I say
Arise, my country
And take your place
So glorified and dignified...
I see it coming
A revolution...
Bloodless?
I know not...
Why?
Cos my country
Is crying.....
Cry, My beloved country!
The land of hope...
The land of milk and honey
The land of people
Great and mighty....
Cry, My beloved country
The home of peace unequalled
The home of people intelligent
A marriage of incompatible spouses...
Cry, My beloved country
The boat which rocks in the tide
Yet capsizes not...
The scrotum of the ram
Which dangles dangerously
Yet it falls not....
Why?
Are we here...
Why?
Are we plundering...
Why?
Are we this way...
When?
Shall we be saved...
Thus I say
Arise, my country
And take your place
So glorified and dignified...
I see it coming
A revolution...
Bloodless?
I know not...
Why?
Cos my country
Is crying.....
Suicide
Suicide
Life is worthless
I am valueless
Everyone despises me
He said....
He got a rope
Around his neck it went
Then unto the tree
In the remotest part
Of the jungle...
His lifeless body was found
By passersby
Who stumbled upon it
On their weary way
From their farms...
Such is the tale
The world over.
Old
Young
Men
Women
Boys
Girls
All commit it
The greatest of crimes
Against oneself...
Suicide....
Why will I
Want to kill myself?
Maybe...
I am poor
My boyfriend jilted me
My bank is after me
I am in a deep mess
My self esteem is lost....
All and all and all...
Is why they go for it...
Whatever you face
Wherever it hits you
Whenever it comes...
Suicide is never an option...
The bedbug told her kids
Whatever is hot
Must become cold
It's a tide...
It will wash off...
Suicide...
The greatest crime
Of all time....
I am valueless
Everyone despises me
He said....
He got a rope
Around his neck it went
Then unto the tree
In the remotest part
Of the jungle...
His lifeless body was found
By passersby
Who stumbled upon it
On their weary way
From their farms...
Such is the tale
The world over.
Old
Young
Men
Women
Boys
Girls
All commit it
The greatest of crimes
Against oneself...
Suicide....
Why will I
Want to kill myself?
Maybe...
I am poor
My boyfriend jilted me
My bank is after me
I am in a deep mess
My self esteem is lost....
All and all and all...
Is why they go for it...
Whatever you face
Wherever it hits you
Whenever it comes...
Suicide is never an option...
The bedbug told her kids
Whatever is hot
Must become cold
It's a tide...
It will wash off...
Suicide...
The greatest crime
Of all time....
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