The Three Abstractions

Time like air is boundless, existing independent of us
Helping us take note, employing us
To nurture after our to-do-list
Yet reminding us the risk
of not being
of not seeing
The thought of it as illusion only makes bold the impact on our vision
An endless circle
Old enough to seal life’s chronicles
Yet does nothing to change it
The only certified entity to bridge it.

Love like the sea, is deep
Accommodating everything cold
and warm-blooded
Not seeking its own way
Needs nothing external to become
Countless questions on its existence
Unending thoughts on its purpose
And like the absence of peace
Making monsters of those who go by without it
The true essence of its fragrance waiting always on those who have gone past feeling
to becoming love.

Death, what happens when you’re busy making other plans
Claiming more lives with its rude interruption
The least talked about of all three
Yet with each blow comes a string of thought on time and love
Each seized breath a trail of shadows to your canvas
With more questions than answers
How much time is left?
Is love evident?
What next after death?

Imani Dokubo
©2021

I have 50 Naira

I have 50 naira
My favorite note.
She used to be beautiful
Blue, fragile and promising
But I still loved her.
Right from childhood,
50 naira held a bouquet of colorful promises
A plate of rice and stew
Plenty wraps of coconut candy
Fanta
Happiness

But then she turned on me
Had a makeover
Became glossy and glamorous
And slowly became worthless.

She used to command respect
now 50 naira has esteem issues,
hardly making any impact when she stands alone.
A once revered note that now only has value in its multiples
50 naira has let me down.

50 naira has now has mood swings
I only get to find out when I arrive at the market.
I just discovered that 50 naira and sachet tomato aren’t in speaking terms
50 naira and onions are no longer friends

50 naira is treading a dangerous path
The path of 5 naira… The path of irrelevance
I’ve tried to warn her.
She said her fate is not in her hands.
That it’s not her fault

50 naira is breaking my heart.
She has changed
Grown distant
I still hold her in my hands but can’t feel her impact in my life.

Damaris Akhigbe
©2021

THE C.V.

The sparrow’s songs. The jackal’s laughter.
The lion’s roar. Eve’s allure.
Adam’s strength.
One string through them all.
I am the one in all.
I am.
Me.

I’m the greatest artist of all time
Way before Shakespeare conceived Juliet
I had you in mind, my Jewel, yet
Unlike Juliet and her Romeo
My romantic tales with you end with no woes.

I am Lover. I am Writer.
Warrior drenched in blood and sand.
Ten thousand chariots, one rider. Me.
I created light. I am Light Himself.
Within, outside, and beyond time.
I am.

Stand in awe before me. Beauty Himself.
Most Amazing. Most Intelligent. Most High.
I am the One who was, who is,
Who always will be jealous for you.
I just am.

Notice.
That organ beating beneath your rib cage?
It sings my praise.
Each and every breath you take
Is a testimony to my genius. No tease.
And when a strand of your hair falls, I notice.
Note this.

I am the grandest musician ever
See, I set your heart beating
And those strings that play each time you blink
I made those long before
Beethoven ever played Duh Duh Duh Duh!

Duh!
For you, I am haven.
For your problems, I’m a monster.
I’m your most primal craving.
Though you know it not.

Forget Ali. I’m the greatest.
I call into your depths. And you answer.
I cancel your debts.
I destroyed your death.
I’m the depths

With a staff, I divide seas.
Dry rod flowers. Ax floats on water.
The bulldozer. I am.
When I nod, the mountains melt.
The seas? They flee when I breathe.
I do the impossible.
I am impossible.
I am.

I am.
I touch your tongues, and you spit flames.
I make you hot. Make you look hot.
But if you’d rather look warm
Then out of my mouth will I spew you.
Who’re you kidding?
I took the punishments due you.
I call many. Choose few. You.

I am.
I’m Tsidkeneu. I make you new.
I am Creator. Crazy Romantic.
I am Theos. Yah’owah. The Vyevo-Vyavo.
The Lily – not of the valley, cos I made those too.
I’m the Lily. Period.

I am.
I am the beginning. I am the end.
I am each and everything between zero and infinity.
The infinite. The without-which-not.
I am not just God. I’m also the Just God.
The God of justice. The God that just is.

I am.
Yahweh. Shaddai.
Omniscient. Omni-knowing.
Omni-sabi.
Na only Me sabi as e dey do you.

I. Am. God.

Nonso John
© 2019

Lies At Dawn

Without the stars appearing on a special
Night, the Angels singing sweet solemn innocent
Tones, jingles, praises to the mean
World that has seen eons
Of pains, love, gratitude, rejections that overwhelmed
Beauties and ugliness we see as tittle and nominal

I wish to be etched in your heart not as a nominal
Singer, but the beat you call special
The sound that leaves you overwhelmed
Our eyes a spark note of innocent
Thoughts that deified us eons
And mortals who are not mean

Men whose inclinations are mean
Can’t even have us as nominal
gods, but great fellows who are eons
Away from their realms. The one they’d call special
Species of rare grace; innocent
Warriors whose tales gets them overwhelmed

Though life may try to get us overwhelmed
It will never make us mean
Or rid us of the innocent
Company of the earthlight that is not nominal
Or make the moonlight serenade less special
Though it has romanced spirits for eons.

We seem to be overrated eons;
Cowered, callously, carefully overwhelmed
Lovely, little, lowly beings called special
Lower than the angels’ mean
Myrmidons, to the paladin nominal
Praying to be seen as innocent

But words cannot be innocent
We are actually eons
Beings that can never be nominal
Beings grave, gentle griefs overwhelmed
In their search of mean
Means of becoming special

To be as innocent as saint Simeon
The special eon that dwells
In this mean tent.

Simeon Chidi
©2019

So much to see

I’m so excited, it’s finally summer,
It’s finally time we would travel in the family hummer,
It’s finally time we would fly to a different happening corner,
My joy is so tensed, I actually feel like a Bahamas runner,
Am so happy, we are finally on the Bahamas journey.

My family is happy and free,
We are actually a family of three,
My father a father, my mother his helper, and I am actually three.
My daddy says, son there is so much to see,
The people, the children, the dolphins and also the sea.

So now we are taking our flight over the sea,
I looked through the window, there is very little I can actually see,
Everything down there is just as tiny as me,
I wonder really, Why are those large ships just as little as me.

Now, I have finished my first class tea,
My comfortable couch allows me to be very very free,
I sit back, relax and fill my mind with thoughts of how everything would turn out to be,
I am so excited, but eventually I fall asleep.

I am violently jerked out of my sleep,
Mommy and daddy are seriously praying beside me,
Mommy quickly notices the confusion written all over me,
Sweedy everything is going to be OK, just pray with your daddy and me,
The pilot says, there is a problem we cannot see,
He said the plane is not functioning as it was programmed to be,
He is obviously struggling to land the plane expertly with the help of his team,
Mummy says, sweedy, the true pilot is not him,”
Let’s together pray to the king of kings.
I cover my face with my hands and say ” God, mommy said you are the pilot of this trip, you know I am so excited about the many things I would soon see, you remember I just dreamed about the Bahamas and it’s sea, so God grant safety to mommy, daddy and me.”

After my prayer, I think I fell asleep, the next I woke up, mommy was smiling at me,
The pilot announced, ” the runway is finally free”
In a moment the plane is finally still,
I look up and catch daddy smiling at me,
He says “hurry son, there is so much to see”

Now daddy is driving us to where we would live,
The sky is filled with tall beautiful trees,
We have finally gotten to where we would be,
Everybody is unpacking and settling in,
While I just enjoy the scene playing before me.

After some time, we all went on our knees,
But before we prayed, I say, ” daddy I think God answered me”.
Then daddy said “what did you ask him”
I said, I ask God for safety for him, mommy and me.
What he replied further inspired me,
I didn’t know God died because he was in love with me,
Please remember I am just only three.

Finally it’s time to see the sea,
Daddy said “son the beach is not far away from here”
Am excited, finally daddy and mommy will play the sand with me.
We finally here,
And Even though our resort is very visible from here,
It felt like coming to the beach made forever near.

I am a child, so I am running everywhere ,
Careful sweedy, careful, mommy shouts from sitting within a chair,
All I say is, mommy come let’s play,
Mommy hurry, Let’s build our castle here,
She smiles and says “son I think the sand is wetter over there”

The evening is finally winning,
The stupid time is constantly spinning,
My Nigerian castle needs it’s final trimming,
But the sea waves think my castle is very appealing,
In a moment am crying, screaming and also wailing.

My daddy hurries over to me and helps me scream at the oceans doing.
Then he tells me, that’s how many Christians are living,
Their lives, God is constructing and building,
Then just before trimming, sin seems very appealing,
And then, He has to start from the very beginning.

What he says, has little meaning,
I stop crying and start rebuilding.
After some time, daddy says;
” son it is evening,
I feel we should all soon be leaving,
Do not ever forget that everything has its own timing,
So today you cannot get to finish this building. “

I stand up and go after the sea that is running,
I hit it with both hands and feet,
” why didn’t you let me finish what I was building”

So that’s why Jesus also came in,
He had to set us free from constantly sinning,
Remember that God is totally emotional about finishing his building,
Because you are his building.

So be like my child, kick against sinning,
Accept Jesus, his mission is redeeming.
But I have to leave,
It’s finally evening.
I have to pick up my son before the sea would overwhelm him,
Don’t let sin overwhelm you.

Look daddy, daddy look,
I think I can see the end of the sky and the sea,
I shake my head, his knowledge is just as little as he,
If only he could actually see,
If only he could actually be like me.

So dear Christian, be like me,
I hope your knowledge is not as little as he,
I hope you can actually see like me,
Because the sky and sea is much bigger than what we can actually see.
Don’t forget to note that the sky is the blessings from Him,
I hope you know there is so much to Him,
His love, kindness, mercy, and grace are all also so free,
So my dear,
Read you Bible and pray to Him,
There is so much to see.

NationalPoet
© 2018