Acid kisses

"Live in the moment, revel in the now."

For you I try, for you I'd sway.
Now and again, you notice the cracks. 
There's a falter in my swing
- my true feelings peek

"What's wrong?" 
You ask. 
"I'd  soothe your aches." 
You vow. 

Can I speak from the heart? 
Do you truly want to know?
Will you scoff or empathise or would you call me confused?  Should I even try? 

I smile sweetly and shrug off my sadness

I've lived in both moments, I've worn the other shoe.

When I loose myself in you, my history with him shows a path

 - then both feet ache.

Of love, loss and living

I met you on a sunny day
The sparks, they sizzled and danced.
I convinced myself you were a flash in the pan - my heart was pledged I said.
Eventually, our stories got lost in time, in time I forgot your name.
Right or wrong, I'd never know
Still I recall the sparks.

I met you once, I didn't take note - you seemed like just another face.
In a crowded room you called my name, it was then I recognised your soul.
I gave you my heart, you got bored yet remained too kind to leave.

I met you when I was jaded through and through - world weary or so I'm told.
Our meeting was unlikely our personalities divergent.
We had a few laughs, shared a few drinks the word to describe us was friends.

In and through time, by my side and more - the wind beneath my wings.
Old and worn, young at heart
Looking forward to many more days.

Black Roses

I close my eyes for a second, turn slightly and he is there.
The one I loved through time.

The rush of emotions weaken me, I am barely able to withstand the force - anger, pain, relief, joy... it seems like forever but we are touching and talking.

The thing with love is that while flexible, it also blinds.
I forget past hurts and embrace the now.
I loved him before, that mattered more.

It was a sign, for that I was glad - against the odds, we were united. 
I believed in second  chance and was willing to work it out.
I held his hand, he started to fade leaving me baffled.

Realization hit, I was set to fight.
No! I screamed, I'm not loosing you again.
I grab at him,  stumble and wake with a start.
It was a dream a cruel wicked dream.

False face

I have loved selflessly 

Only to learn I was an option.

I have been fiercely loyal

Only to learn my loyalty was a joke.

In pain I've cried, in torment I've burned 

With tears and ash I've made a mask.

I'd sacrifice for strength, I'd persevere for love.

My mask shields my scars.

This is not my real face.

It begins with you... Recognise it

The problem of Nigeria is deeply rooted in something so dark; the right words to capture it escape me.

I’d like to call it ‘slave mentality’ but I am not sure that the description does it justice.

It is not for 'servant leaders to rise up' or for voters to 'demand accountability from appointed representatives'. It is to go into the DNA of the vast majority and have this satanic cancer of a rot exorcised.

There is a something gravely wrong in our society – a malevolent spirit rapidly leaching its terrible tendrils of evil into the depths of our society – One way to banish it will be to get violently angry.

To become so angry that we begin to shake off the evilness from our core – we start shaking and do not stop for any reason till we have dislodged the demons of illiteracy, destroyed the spirit of malice and rebuilt a country where love and empathy are the norm.

It is impossible to detail an exemplary list, worse is that not many people are aware of the gravity of the problem and how it happens that one little push in an opposite direction causes a tremendous effect in the other. 

This alone is a problem.

For a girl to build up courage, decide to stop playing victim, confess she was raped and the next thing she is asked is “what were you wearing?”

That is a problem.

For you advice a woman to remain in an unhealthy relationship because “after all; he chose you/comes home to you”, or “he gave you his last name” – like she was a miserable patchwork doll hanging on display at the fairgrounds till he chose her  – he could have had a more desirable life partner but decided to settle for her so rather than complain, she should tolerate watching him make up for her imperfections by creating memories with his more desirable choices.

That is a problem

For a mother of three children to loose her husband and the father of her children and the next thing she hears is “she is young, she will find love again” or “the man was related to me by blood, she (his wife) does not understand my pain.”

That is a problem.

For you to refuse to accept the man your sister choose to marry because he is of a different tribe than you and to never fail to call out his tribe for every human error he makes.

That is a problem.

For you to allow your married friend to use your house as a rendezvous point for his illicit affairs and your defense is “I’m not one to judge, he was my friend first.”

That is a problem.

For a married man to allow his mistress to believe the woman he claims to love is the spawn of Satan and does nothing to stop said mistress from praying and plotting for his dear wife’s demise because the general consensus is that – a man would say anything to get laid – so it is no big deal that he is inadvertently putting his wife in harm's way.

That is a problem.

For you to deliberately train your child to be discourteous, unkind and/or selfish because doing otherwise might result in the child being used for rituals, ransom or worse.

That is a problem.

For you to see your neighbor being assaulted and walk the other way because you are afraid of transferred aggression or worse, you believe said neighbor probably did something to deserve it.

That is a problem.

For you to accept bribe (facilitation fees) for the accreditation of an institution of learning that is ill equipped to train or educate students to avoid the wrath of the powers that be.

That is a problem.

For you to refuse to buy/use/develop made in Nigeria goods and services because you believe the ‘white man’ is more trustworthy or that if you enrich your fellow country man, he would use his wealth to oppress you.

That is a problem.

For you to claim to be a practicing Christian and refuse to acknowledge the greatest commandment of God is “love your neighbor as yourself” but rather spend your communion with him (God) invoking the Holy spirit and even Angel’s Gabriel, Raphael and Michael to burn said enemies (neighbors) to smithereens for some evil you “suspect” them of being involved in.

That is a problem

Election years come and go the closest you go to a polling booth is to take selfies with a celebrity that made a "publicity appearance".  That’s even for an instance when you were able to get your voters card to start with. Be it your fault or the fault of the system; getting mine however, has turned to an epic saga.

We have lost the ability to use our God gifted brains. We have thrown out logical thinking and opt instead to behave like a herd of cattle.  Looking for “Shepherd’s” in churches, confraternities and wealthy peers.

I am trying really hard to live each day better than the last, find happiness in little things and appreciate the value of forgiveness then you have the nerve to tell me I am a pretender? 

Thanks to my kind of education, I recognized a while ago that I am higher up in the food chain. – I am a frigging King, Prophet and Priest.

 I refuse to apologize for not following herd mentality and will not reason or act like an unbranded cow.