The Lover’s Recipe

While everyone around the world was basking in the euphoria of the acclaimed love day (Valentine’s Day), Penspeak Community UNIZIK got busy with their pens and spent the day reliving the nostalgia of God’s love.

The floor was thrown up and Delight blew us away with this piece;

 WHOSE ORDERS?

That a tiny acorn will make a mighty forest 
Wasn’t the loamy soil’s words to utter.
Dear child…I speak in voices as ancient as before.
I gave you gifts not like anyone else’s 
But you chose to be photographed through distorted lenses.
You followed rules written by hands you will never shake
Then ending at crossroads, you asked me “Lord what’s your take?
Those rules were written by hand…
Funny how you are ignorant to the power embedded in yours
You obeyed the “rites” discarding the “rights”
What a perfect mismatch you are!!
You were told to silence your own voice for the sake of the loud…
The loud voice said “conform” but in your heart you felt torn.
Torn between the needs of your soul and the rule you have been sold.
Is it freedom you seek or a cage in gold?
Bound by lines drawn by a mentally distorted ruler’s ruler
They said “follow” and you never asked why
You were wheedled to be fine with “just fine”.
They raised you to be small but your heart beats loud…louder than their expectations.
Dear child…if you would… listen.
The elders might call this rebellion 
But I call it my divine intention 
Your dreams and desires are my design
Your handwritten lifeline, mine to sign
Your steps are earthquakes in their shallow puddles
You are to build bridges where they said walls stood
You are not a footnote in their stories.
You are the headline yet they don’t want to see your headlines.
Prior to forming you, I knew thee.
I know your deepest sleep even your purest glee 
So, whose orders if not mine?

Mc Wisdom came in right after and dropped this;

GOOD FOOD

Just can’t wait until it gets to the plate
Aromas that dance, through a culinary state
Tenderly cooked, with love and with care
Each bite a story, beyond compare

The cutting, slicing, sizzling, crackling, mixing,
 a continuous process that lives you wanting and yawning 

Oh, the joy of good food, that brings us together
A universal love language,
The norming around the dinner table 
The joy and laughter that’s uncontrollable, that transcends this weather, and leaves you warm.

A taste of nostalgia, a hint of home.
Good food that nourishes the body and soul,
Makes you forget your problem for a moment, leaving you whole.

So, here’s to the chefs, the cooks, and the bakers
The farmers, the fishermen, and the food makers
My mom, dad, siblings, friends, family 
Thank you for the feast, for the flavours and the fun
Good food that brings us to the table, as one.

With the floor and curtains intact, Delight waltz in with so much inspiration and gave us;

HOSEA 2🥰

I was once yours, you were once mine.
But in the shadows, you slipped away,  
Chasing after lovers who didn’t care,  
Trading true love for a false comfort,  
An affair with idols, a broken vow in the temple of desire.  
You left me but every step you took, I felt it,  
Every kiss you gave, I tasted it.  
Your heart wandered, but mine stayed rooted,  
Waiting, holding on,  
Gripping the promise of what was.

But love is not blind– it sees the truth,  
And the truth cuts deep.
So, hear me now:  

I will no longer cover your shame,  
I will no longer veil your mistakes, for you’ve turned your back, 
And I must speak of the consequences.  
The gates will close, the blessings will fade,  
Your fields will wither, and your heart will ache,  
As the world you built crumbles beneath your feet.  
But in this silence, in this solitude,  
You’ll hear my voice again and I won’t leave you there,  

For even in the wilderness,  
I am here, I will allure you,  
I will call your name and I will take you back,  
Not as a servant, but as my bride.  
I’ll speak comfort to your broken heart,  
Restore the years you’ve lost to wandering,  
Your valley of despair will become a place of hope,  
Your shame will be washed clean,  
And the shame you once wore,  
Will be replaced with a crown of righteousness.  
I will lead you to a new covenant, A promise of peace,  
Where love reigns.
Where mercy is poured like rain on dry ground,  
Where my faithfulness holds you close. I will be your God,  
And you will be my people,  
And together, we’ll make all things new.  
The name you once wore,  
The name of betrayal,
Will be changed.  
You will be called “My Delight,”  
And I will call you “My Beloved.”  

Forever,  
And nothing will ever tear us apart again.

What a love! What a God! See you next month for another freestyle!

Authors
MC WISDOM
DELIGHT SHEKELS

The Forested desert

Its appearance was like a desert
Burning hot and bare in projection
I was already heading that way
So I’d rather take a look at it myself

The closer I got, the clearer I could see
Little green blades spouting out of the seemingly hardened clay
Different colours, shapes and sizes of flowers were opening up
The sound of life was faint but loud enough to be heard.
And the dry air was now blessed with the fragrance of tranquillity

Each step unfolded pleasant surprises;
Suddenly, those blades had grown so tall
Held up by thick brown stands
They spread their Afros like umbrellas against the harsh rays
Colours were lifting with wings and their chirping was high pitched albeit pleasant to the ears

When I looked down, instead of a shadow I saw my reflection
Clearly staring back at me upon the flowing waters – so clear and Pure
It followed a path as though controlled by the melody from a Piper’s pipe
And out of it came cold peaceful air that filled the Forest

Oh, I just called it a ‘Forest
I could vividly remember it was a desert I saw
So dry it could crack a shadow casted on it
Right there, I couldn’t even see my shadow
For the rays of the Sun barely pierced through the thick afro leaves
And oh, what beautiful glitters it formed on the water surface.

It’s a transformation I thought only existed in Disney world
It happened so fast yet slow enough that I could have sworn I was there for hours
But it was so real
So peaceful, so cool, so fertile and so perfect as it appeared before me

“Until the spirit be poured
upon us from on high,
And the wilderness be a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be counted for a forest.”

It wasn’t just a dream,
it is real.

PearlyThoughtz
©2021

Things Unseen!

I don’t know much about faith,
But if mine could be measured,
I am sure a mustard seed would feel bigger,
And a feather would hold more weight,
And tip the scale more than my faith,
On any given SI Unit

I don’t know much about Agric science;
How one plants a seed in an unknown soil,
In the night, full of uncertainties,
Hoping it germinates into a plant,
Bearing fruits of things one wished for,

I don’t know much about moving Mountains,
But I know of the Faith,
That made a woman wrestle her way through a crowd,
So that her rain forest of blood could be a desert,
That multiplied five loaves and two fishes into thousands and five baskets,
That defied the law of physics,
So, Peter could walk on water,

I don’t know much about Miracles,
But I know the One,
That turned water to wine,
That called the dead out of his tomb,
And called the bluff of a storm,
He is the one I present this little seed to,
Hoping that the things unseen in my life,
Manifests into sights best known to man.

Olaoye Adeleye
(C) 2019

In The Cage

The news of the free fat forest guard
The humble bird it had as its breakfast
The noise of the resenting jungle dwellers
And the anti-poaching authority
Is a bittersweet jingle for a product you dare not buy.

The parrot that dares spread this ungodly news
Ends eventually enslaved by the freedom in the cage
Singing special songs to the ears of the chief ensconced
In his palatial power-filled pulpit of pains
Inflicting.

You dare not tell thy three brothers what happened
Or the mice and their muse would feast
On your glory
Kiss you with lips of Judas
Deny you as though they truly are Peter’s apprentice
Before big brown fowl crows
A warning that night never loved plain soul

Simeon Chidi
© 2019