Tag: life

Barren Mother

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I have an empty well of a belly.
My womb has known nothing but dying blood all my living years.
I have thought of no one but myself,
Fed no one but myself,
Placed no one before myself,
How do I have a womb except it was made to bear another, and yet
I have no idea what it means to pour a part of myself into another.
“A breast feeding mother?”
That’s a foreign name to me.
“A bread winning father?”
Who dares call me?
I am my own hero,
My own salt,
My own light in a shady place,
Come with me and I’ll lead you into the darkness.
I’d snuff the life out of my light because I do not want to share it.
I’m an evil already happening,
A menace waiting to be uncovered.
My tactics are new everyday
Yet my mind is old.
I am a dirty, dirty soul with a clogged up heart and a rigid body.

This is why I have come before the Rock of Ages,
Before The fire that purifies without consuming to ashes.
My tears produce more salt now than I have ever thought to produce.
I do not know when I ever took lessons from the ocean
But my ill will like waves come crushing over me.
I am caught up in my own dirt web,
Spun in my own fear.
I have come to you as a barren womb in need for a child.
I was born to be mother, now may I know a child?
I have come as a fruitless tree in its season.
As hungry fire,
I’m desperate.
As a docile branch,
I submit.
I accept defeat.
Let your rains fall on this arid land again, Lord.
I admit nothing was ever my own;
As I am left with nothing now I am reminded where I come from.
Give me one child, Yahweh ‘tis All I ask.
Surprise the quick-to-conclude with Your quick-to-deliver.
Let them know when their calling-me-barren tongues call me mother,
Let them know from every side of the flipping coin earth,
That You make the Barren Mother.

Adaobi Chiemelu
(c) 2018

The Fire of Revolution

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If you truly want a revolution
You must be willing to watch your life fade
From before your own vanishing eyes

If you crave for the heavens showered
With bright red flames and blinding white light
You must care to be consumed with it

The rebirth you long for
Isn’t held in familiar bosoms
Is never at home with soft couches, tamed roses and sweet homely dinners

The freedom that’ll last forever
Is an intense joy and a harrowing pain
Stabs of rejection, and lingering loving embraces

If you truly want a revolution
You must be willing to watch your life burn
And glow

If you want a revolution that lasts forever
How about a death that scorches us into unending life?
How about Christ, Revolution Eternal?

Ikenna Nwachukwu
© 2018

Dear stranger

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Dear stranger,
Do not hold down your doubt, your anger,

Life is no ordinary poem,
With lines, stanzas and rhymes,
Life is no ordinary Odyssey,
With storms, fear and courage,

‘No’ your breath is more,
Breath of life is more than,
a poor poem, a poor journey,
And so I say,
Let the apparition show,
Let the street overflow,
With the words of psalms,
May the words of proverbs,
And Matthew fly across your mind,

But please dear stranger,
Do not restrict your doubt, your anger,
Let them challenge the Psalm,
And proverbs and all,

And when your inner man is ready,
And your reasonable war over,
Throw away all the broken armors,
Of doubt and anger and sit still,
For awhile by the river,

For I am the crown, the king,
The light, the peace,
The truth, life eternal,
In me every road,
Leads the way home,

Dear stranger,
Do not resist your doubt, your anger,
But come, follow me.

Ugwu David C
© 2018

Life After Death

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It is so ridiculous
How we fear death
A riddle, cool course
Why we want to live on earth

Life is to death
As death is to life
Man is to earth
As earth is to man

It’s OK we die
Because it’s a metamorphosis for one to live
At some point, we will say goodbye
To the old hives, we’ve lived

Failure could be death
Challenges could be death
Depression could be death
But the ability to overcome, prompts a new life

Definitely we will die someday
And there awaits us another life
The believers call this eternal
When we shall become immortal
But until we die, can we live such

Adethatwrites
© 2018

A Portrait of Sacrifice, with Blood as Paint

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A band of butcherers chant,
As they drag crying sheep through,
Smashed rocks and dirt clouds,
Swarming, to slaughter point,

Its fluffy coat sheds, to mingle,
With mud puddles and grim slime,
It swims in darkened blood,
And sways, to torturers’ feet stomping,

As shredding skin paints the path,
To the altar, with red hue,
A portrait of life takes shape:
Suffering, to death,

But if through its last cries,
It sees losing self could be worship,
It’ll fall, to paint its dying as,
Living worship to God, “Sacrifice Infinite”.

Ikenna Nwachukwu
© 2018

False-Truth

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I’m not good enough,
Daddy is taking Ada out for the third time because she aced her exams and I did not,
It’s the 4th time I’m being dumped for the better one who happens to bear my second name,
Yes! I took the pain to please my team and they chose David instead to take the lead,
Right now, I can’t look my wife in the face because I was not strong enough to rescue our only son before the car exploded in my face,
It’s 5 of 5 times I gave my opinion only to be overlooked by Tunde my coworker,
Who later brushed it up at the board meeting and was given a cool offer,
I even bet my life savings on the victory of my soccer club and the other club won,
And now I remember that it was momma who never believed a word a say because of the lie I told when I was two,

So, before I take my baby steps to death,
let me tell you that life has left me bullied by these thoughts and actions and betrayals and my pride with many rejections,
I even resulted to alcoholism but.. wait,
My religion abhors it so I’m formerly depressed,
These are the few I can tell,
I don’t want to tingle your ears,
And so far, all gesture given to me have been a clue for my escape away from this wicked world,

This was my life until I met one who told me I was made for so much more,
“Though the world’s pressure be heavy on me?”
But one sure word,
“Though I have been tagged as a sore looser and my dreams are dying”
But one true word,
“Though the stem of a tree be cut off and it’s roots wither but with the scent of water…
..That tree will grow again”

So before you pull the trigger to your brain,
Or drink that mixture,
Or have a last look at the beautiful skies as you sink in to the deep,
Or tie that rope to your neck,
Or write your last letter,
Give me the chance to rescue the hero in you,
Let me a minute to whisper to you that you are the one the skies have been waiting for,
Allow me to give you this scent of hope that there’s one who believes in your breath,
Your scent, your accent, your color, your posture, your smiles,

I mean your tears a so treasured so much that every drop sends a signal to the one who created you,
Truly you’re the apple of his eyes,
And these misdeeds are remodeling you into a masterpiece,
Your past do not define your future,
You are equal and more to that problem you’re facing,
You’re the champion waiting to happen,
So don’t give up, hang in there!
And just before another ‘false truth’ comes knocking at your mind’s door,
Accommodate this one truth,
“You are good enough!”

Azubuike Hannah
© 2018

GRACE PETAL

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He is a flower of love, I’m a petal of grace.
Race me to the hour, pedal my race.
Resonate my soul to your orbit.
Traded pains… Salvation was the profit.

Drain my sins into the ocean of flames.
’cause names run off the book of life, feels like an erosion of names.
My veins were overflowing with lament.
But you made it all ferment, now my joy clouds the firmament.

My heart feels like a beating lake
’cause no emotion flows.
This vacuum you filled… I will scream till even a dumb fish in the ocean knows.
Soul once felt like a vault of darkness.
My days were spiced with the salt of sadness.

I stepped on thorns and you turn them into rose petals.
You take the drive out of my foe’s pedals.
On raging waters you left your footprint.
Your infinite love is a blueprint.

Kruise
© 2018

Tell Me The Truth.

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“Truth is always thrown under the bus”

You see statements like this?
They are the problem with the world,
Scratch that,
they are the problem with us.

If Truth is a concept
You cant depend on it
In fact you shouldn’t
I know I can’t
first of, what is a concept?

A concept is,
“an abstract or general idea,
inferred or derived from specific instances.”

I don’t know that seems pretty inconsistent if you ask me.

If truth is merely abstract/ general ideas inferred. ( conclusions drawn from logical judgements made on the basis of circumstantial evidence)
The question will be;
How many billion circumstances does it take to produce the actual ” concept of truth”?

If and when still hypothetically speaking, you find the concept of truth, from these billions of circumstances, how do we trust it or them, when its so circumstantial

Let’s make a list of circumstances in life shall we?
I’m just kidding
That’s impossible

If the entire population of the world is 6 billion (fight the figures at your own peril I’m no statistician)
It simply means we have 6 billion times thousands of thousands of possible truths per circumstance

That’s a lot of truths
not to mention scary mathematics.

That’s aeons of concepts of truth that have not yet been subject to the basics of direct observation, criticism, I don’t know, critical analysis of the circumstances perhaps but I digress

Since we can’t talk to 600 billion, let’s talk to you and me.
if I believe in the “concept of truth”, it would mean that Truth is mine to define based on my circumstance

Let’s say in a day I laugh, cry, get betrayed get robbed lose a friend, eat ice cream, win 100million on bet naija, get a free trip to Malibu,

My truth will be defined 9 times that day, based on the 9 different experiences I had.

I guess that’s enough truth concepts for one day

Because I can’t even figure out which of my Truths or your Truths can be thrown under the bus.
Especially if you didn’t have anything good happen to you in your own day.

Do you feel my Headache already?…

Truth needs to be consistent, singular, standard, absolute, solid, steady, real and beyond the dynamic influence of your shape shifting circumstance, to be of any useful help to you.

Truth has to be greater than you for your own good.

Truth has to remain consistent whether you’re experiencing bitter or sweet (And even this is subject to your tongues opinion because taste varies and sometimes perception of taste is preconditioned to other circumstances we have been exposed to. mheeen these things can be so deceptive)

Truth must have and be tested, tried, found worthy, faithful and uncompromising.

Truth should not be intimidated by our circumstances, must be; “bring it on I can take it”, “it doesn’t matter I’m in control”, ” nope you were wrong there”, “yup you did the right thing, move on now”, unashamed, unafraid, unmoved, unshakable, unstoppable, unbribable, sustainable, self sustained, willing to die to remain true.

Sound familiar?

hmmm Truth you are so real, I could almost touch you.
Not concept but Essence, you’re essential for my survival, my stability, its funny I feel like I know you.
its strange feels weird, I don’t just want to say “the truth”
I want to be true…. its personal.

Can you really deny this subconscious dialogue?
that when it comes down to Truth or Lie it gets personal,
like its not just you and the characters in your circumstance

but its
1.You
2.The Character(s)
3. The Lie &
4. Truth

In your circumstance, you should choose to follow the way of truth and even if you lose all you thought you had, eventually you’d have what’s really yours,….. peace.

“mhen I lost everything but at least I stayed true”

That right there, that’s life.

You only stay true when you look truth in the face, watch truth pierce through you, and still you accept truth.

“you’re right, I was wrong, I’m sorry”

You are not Truth, but you can accept Truth in every circumstance and stay in the image and likeness of Truth,
You can Stay/Be True.

So what is truth? I asked and why does truth feel so real and personal? ( yup I’m asking for us all)

Jesus answered;
“I am the way, the Truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me”.

That’s John 14:6 ( The Bible)

ahhh now I get it,
this is Truth
I believe.

©Msray_2018