After dark, you’ll see the varnished feather flutter timidly
The tone of our voices will be hush and snore
The candle light will be a dancing damsel dilly-dallying in last rite
Final performance before silent passing out
Life snuffed out, forgotten, just old, just picture-in-mind
Grinding to pieces the snappy progression of infinity
Grand purpose apparently contradicted, crossed, disrupted
So our eyes see these occurrences
Old, unconnected, in disarray
In regular attitude, we conclude that we find no pattern
We find no meaning

But don’t forget the times we forayed in joyful dance
When we boldly dared the dizzying heights
When we stuttered upon broken gravel straits, not even cringing
When the weightiest of tasks seemed lightest to give away
Our post of freedom, our line of confidence
Our bastion of hope
Life is the gift, the package of togetherness which we together unwrap
The silent meditation birthing jubilant cries and repentant wails
Our voices in union, in seclusion
Don’t forget the times of sunshine, of chattering teeth and drenched backs
All the seasons and all the flowers, crumpled and blossoming and dropping
The cycle of living and dying, the wave of rise and fall
The contrasts that help us comprehend, that help us define
The world temporal, and eternity boundless
Divine writ we read with hearts wide open to life.

When life seems dark
And the wisdom of men have failed
How about Grace?

A young teenager
Dropped out of school
With an unplanned child
On the verge of being disowned
By the only ones she calls her own
How about Grace?

Another, depressed from the news of having divorced parents
Carrying a burden of responsibilities as the first son
And pressures from cults in school
How about Grace?

Yet another, what should be termed ” JOY” alone
Is mixed with sadness all along
When all options seem futile
Thoughts of suicide skim your mind because you don’t belong
In that battle where evil should win because the soldier has lost his shield
How about Grace?

When this habit or rather addiction
Makes it evident that by flesh shall no man prevail
How about Grace?

Well here is this fountain
Purchased by a priceless blood
In surrender to all ideas, races and decisions and possible solutions
To the perfect source of help
To be in peace, salvation
This is Grace

Grace is his name
This is He that calls you
He loves and predestined you to be justified and glorified in Him
How about Grace?
Why not turn to him

-Azubuike Hannah

Maybe, its You

Your head is at a dead end

Your heart sick at a hurt bend

You’ve descended steep and fast to final loss

You’re finding your steel nerves have given, can only gloss

Look aside, apart from yourself, and find love here

Never far, always standing there

Firm and fierce and strong enough to care

More than frail hearts of men ever could dare

For, I have found that

When a man loves his bride, he would lay down his life

The irony lies in death, when love should give life

Once upon a time, a man loved me so much, he died for me to live

Since then I kept dying everyday that he may live

The death he died for my life,I’m dying for his life

But either way, we just can’t be separated

Together,we’re one, together, we’re alive!

As the world sees it

Separated words like sub-lime should taste bitter sour

Separated worlds like hot Mercury, luke-warm jupiter, or

Separated walls with thick thickness with layed bricks and great heart fitness

But forget all that; we are of a different class

Repping Christ, full assurance of a confirmed right

Taking notes as He dictates our civil rights

Piling up divine assignments like looting battle boxes, blame our phobia to fright

See I’m a bride whose bride price set worlds at war

It took a ressurection to marry me, full debt paid in totality

So when you ask the Devil who Christ is,

He looks at me and remembers cheque-mate!

Christ died for my living

Now that’s Death-Grace and I love Him!

Sometimes I wonder

How its displayed for us all to see

Yet we choose to ignore the truth, the reality

Its so simple, yet we hoplessly try to mystify it

We say we do not agree to its methodology

But everyday we step out that open door

We take on a desperate search for love

So I wonder

I wonder if we prefer the world for what it is

If the so-called rigteous kills are worth it

If a hungry soul’s plea we still feel

If we prefer to watch them die in their sins

I wonder: if love wont drive us, what will?

#Freestylemonday

As we sat eating peacefully at the table
I, my darling and my children
Kataboom! ketekete! came the sudden sound of gunfire
A peaceful moment was turned into chaos

At night we couldn’t stay there anymore
We packed our few belongings
And scrambled to the bush for safety
With my darling in tow

Suddenly I heard an anguished cry behind
I turned and saw my darling
Clutching his chest, his mouth spurting blood
by a ghastly wound made by a stray bullet

My sun went black, my moon wept blood
The clouds poured acid rain, as my darling said, “run”,
I left my darling, lyin gin the dust
Smiling sadly at me, before giving up the ghost

I stumbled blindly on, led by my distraught children
Tears blurring my view, sorrow clouding my reasoning
Till I could run no more, and we found a place of hiding
Far, Oh! so far away from my fallen darling

Nights later, when I crept out to get some supplies
I saw the infants, toddlers, young and old
kissing mother earth, sleeping to rise no more
My heart sank in utter despair

Stifling a sad cry, I strip them of their clothes
For my children – the dead won’t need clothes anyway
As I crept sadly back, since I couldn’t find food
My legs kicked a papery object, and I picked it up curiously

Laughing mirthlessly, seeing what it was
It can be used for fuel, if it can’t be eaten as food
I trudged on to refuge, safe in the arms of the bush
Since I couldn’t sleep, I sat up to read the queer book

I read of a supreme being called God, creating the world with words
“Surely, these people cant be serious. Unbelievable and far-fetched!”
I read of a God in form of a man (“really?”)
coming to die for mankind, sacrificing Himself

“Ha! This is ridiculous! how is it possible?”
However, as I read on, tears crept slowly out of my eyes
I read of His love, His compassion, of His sorrow and HIs temptation
of HIs battery and His crucifixion, and I felt my voice catch a little

Somewhere, somehow, like the dripping of dew,
Peace trickled slowly into my heart
clutching the book, I devoured more of its contents
to draw more peace-drops

Well, if Jesus actually did this, then I have hope to the extreme
That’s how He came into my life, after hours of reading the book
I gave my heart to Him, and my heart was set free from sorrow
My heart became clean, I felt alive, and felt happy! Yes!

I no more missed my darling so much
cos I have a new, most precious, darling
His name is Christ Jesus
Oh! my Darling

(I’ve got to introduce Him to my children right away!)

#bursting forth

As I swallow the second to the last morsel of eba* 

I almost choke it up

When I heard the news reporter

Give a detailed report of the impending chaos

I got up hurriedly

Rushed to meet my family

Packed our precious belongings

And rushed to the basement

Day after day, week after week

The racketing of bombs above our heads

The anguished cry of the captives never dies down.

In my sleep

I shed unshed tears

I pray unprayed prayers

Hoping against hope.

Taking stock of the situation

Outside my comfort zone

My horrible dream comes true

Tears find their way out of my eye sockets

Dismembered arms, amputated limbs

Gorged eyes, flayed faces

Some recognizable, some not.

My stomach retched at the sight

I walked in a dazed stupor

Drunken in anguish, reeling from shock

Weary from psychological stress

Stumbling, stumbling across my fallen brothers

What hope is there for me?

And my ever distraught family

I sighed and gnashed my teeth

As I remembered my last morsel of eba*

That meal is better off than me

Sitting coolly in one place

Not caring anything about the affairs of this world

So my thoughts ran paranoid.

Alas! out of the thick black darkness

A bright light knifed through

Shining, cutting through the darkness

Bringing with it love, joy and peace

Peace, Oh peace like a river

Giving me peace in times of  war

Like cold water on my sun-fried back

Cooling my very innards

With the Prince of Peace riding in glory

Accompanied by the shout of angels

Saying “Peace, on earth”

Then ceased the wind

And there was a great calm

Giving me hope again.