Still Pray

It’s freestyle Friday and you know how we like to serve you; Hot 🔥 and fresh from the oven!!!. My name is Adeleye Olaoye and I will be the one to run you through Today’s menu. Niel, at 9:41 a.m., came to announce what we would be dishing for the day; Still Pray. I wonder what was going through his mind but anyway, sit back and enjoy your meal as your eyes feast on our poems.

At 9:46 A.M., Zoe Ziva opened dey floor:

Dey pray
E go be like say sometimes e no dey work, but still, dey pray
E go even be like Daniel wey dem go gather for your matter dey talk, but still, dey pray
Sometimes it may feel that your prayers are even dragging you towards what you’re praying against, yet again, still pray.
For in the place of prayers we gain strength for the days ahead, so still dey pray
For na den we go receive grace take make things happen and strength to stop the wrong things from happening.
So I say again. Dey pray.

Hope you enjoyed the appetizer? At 9:48 A.M., Godswill Ezeonyeka wrote:

Pray still I pray thee
When thy lips part in supplication
Let thine heart not wavering remain still
Let Jesus call thy peace to attention
And thy prayers find joyful voyage to Father

At 9:56 A.M., Hannah wrote:

When the edge is broken
When there are stray bullets flying in the streets
To pray or not to pray will not be a dilemma
When you are swallowed up by a fish
When you know you’re the reason for the chaos
To pray or not to pray will not be in conflict
But all pray and no watch makes the purpose of the One who sent you frustrated
Yet, all watch and no pray makes you a vessel of no use!

Godswill Ezeonyeka wasn’t done! At 10:03 A.M., he wrote:

Hearken! I pray thee
To the prayers prayed before
Our fathers besought the Father’s very being
With open hearts they yearned for answers we now ignore
Ye! The poured out Spirit searcheth for praying sons

At 10:43 A.M., The Niel wrote :
Father take it from me
Any hanging ons
Gbadura Fun mi
Favors get returned
May acidic spirits get watered down
Man on Holy Ghost
Word Diet and nightgown
We still pray for things we should be praying at
Father said pursue from where you’re kneeling at
Na Spirit go back you, just raise the right mast
Our room is espo, We were an Atlas
I still pray like spiritual pillow talk
Given there are days when we do outburst
The power and eternity sit above the talk
The Lord and His Word are the very First

Felzpoecy, at 10:45 dropped his bars:
When life seats you down to have a meeting with love
And your body begins to feel man enough to own it
Remember
Nobody ever made the right handbook for loving
So when you fall in a kind of love that doesn’t keep you warm in winter
Teach yourself to stand up
Do not leave without burning the bridges
The heat would help you through your travel to a better place

At 10:55 A.M., Ubamara wrote:
Stand still my soul, I pray thee
And know that He is God
When my heart is overwhelmed within me
Still will I pray
More times than I care to count
Has the One who is Love come through for me
And when it seems like my okro doesn’t draw
Still will I pray to the One I’m drawn to

At 11:38 A.M., The Jemcy wrote this:
The rule is simple
Pray or Faint
But I plead with you to choose the former
Its easier than you all have made it
Its as simple as telling me everything
As you would a friend.
I’m tired of being your last option
And being called upon only when you’re in trouble
I want you to dial the line just to say hi
I want our communication to be a constant thing.
I’m not a deaf God my boy
I just want you to pray some more
Till prayer becomes your lifestyle
The solution is simple
When you’re weak, ask me for help to pray…
And by asking, you just started to pray!!!

At 11:45 A.M., Eremipaghmo Pearl rounded up when she wrote this:
Speak the infinite liturgical languages
Pray! It’s a familiar code
Series of requests
Thanksgivings
Intercessions
Let the silent voice cry out
Leave the answer to the one whose say counts
Pray, it’s a familiar code
People still seek a listening ear
Raging thoughts driving them mad
And before them is the familiar code
Yet they know it not
Stiffled faith is what desperation births
The labour is ominous
If we don’t know the code
Let it out
Let it out to the one whose say count
Pray still regardless of what language you know
Still pray when thoughts go wild.
Do both in the name of Jesus

Authors:
Godswill Ezeonyenka
Zoe Ziva
Ubamara
Eremipaghmo Pearl
Niel
Jemcy
Felzpoecy

JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED


They say justice respects no man
Yet he has gotten away with evil
They say the law is blind
Yet I see a criminal walking free

A shadow is cast in the bright sky
The day has turned into night
Twenty four hours reduced I must say
What a mystery it is to behold

The sun has refused to come out
Though another day already begun
The atmosphere, a palpable gloom
So intense for these miserable souls

His victim this time is still in cradle
What has she done, I want to ask
The mother seconds my thoughts
So many others too I must confess

But Like before, I saw him escape again
Leaving in his wake his misery
But when will justice be served?
To this murderer who seeks his next victim?


And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Revelation 20:14



AJEGBOMOGUN OLUFUNKE
© 2022

Man With The Mic

I fear for the man with the microphone
He must speak that which was spoken to him
But does he listen only to speak to the crowd
Can he listen enough to listen while he speaks

I wonder at the woman with the microphone
Laid out in beautiful worship before her Lord
Does her feet still know the grounds of this world
Will this dance of transcendence translate or transform

I fear and I wonder at the man I could be
Microphone in hand, driven by more than I can transmit
I pray that my eyes and heart never know another Lord
That I never be left on my own with a microphone

I wonder at the people we will be, microphone in hand
Telling of his love, revealing to all what they need to hear
More than words we can describe yet we raise a sound
So I pray with the microphone in our hands only Him will be heard


Ezeonyeka Godswill
Oraegbu Philipa
(c) 2022

Light


Sometimes I feel like the world is an unlit candle, watching my lighter’s drama.
I was taught the word is light, I guess grade school didn’t teach us to speak in brighter grammar
Cos these twilight thoughts often leave my tongue twisted.


Who ever said talk is cheap, never valued the tongue he was gifted.
Still, light has never met a darkness it could not chase.


And even when words are too heavy for lips to lift, I can still hum amazing Grace.
Until I can flip my can’ts to can dos.
Until I can speak Sparks to these candles.

Ini Brown
©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