Let it shine
For when Christ
Decides it is time
No matter the season
Not even time can
Withhold my shine
Ebubechi
© 2022
Tag: time
Turns
A lot is cast
Many a times, wisdom proclaims
Life na tumbo tumbo
one way or another
The wheel spins to everyone’s direction
One or two a time
The sages said
“A good turn deserves another”
The owner of ages said
“Do good, even unto your enemies”
One way or another
The wheels spins to everyone’s direction
One or two a time
Games we played
Children in the streets
Home wasn’t far away
And the lessons out there
Didn’t make us fall short
We learnt to understand
The lot will one way or another
Fall on every player
The mix of pride and grief
When the wheel spins to one’s direction
One is the victor
Another the victim
Negotiating the future
To taste the sweetness of revenge
Or the pride of forgiveness
For when the lot is in favour
But before then, don’t tempt the gods
Your fears will betray you
And when the wheels spins
To one or two a time
Be sure to have The Lord as your lot
Pearlythoughtz
© 2022
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
IT WILL MAKE YOU GLOW
Slowly, just like a breaking dawn
I move in the direction of my dreams
These mountains leave me only a frown
Give us your eyes, always their scream
I have no doubt failures will come
For such are unwanted friends of every worthy cause
All must be smooth- an expectation of some
Unrealistic it is, of course
So I welcome and endure the pain
Decorating my pathway of life
For I know no pain, no gain
My best friend hope I must keep alive
Whether I fail or not is not the matter
Losing my focus is what I must not allow
So preserve your vision, my sister and brother
For in time, it will make you glow
AJEGBOMOGUN OLUFUNKE
© 2022
Change
I like people and how they change, It reminds me of home. Of how one person won’t make it to Christmas next year, and forever. How this might be the last time I’ll tell aunty Chinenye that she’s my favorite. That her hair is beautiful and her smile is radiant. That being the only person in the family with dimples must mean that she was special. That I’ll come for holidays when she got married. That I love her. Before I run away with the plate of corn and _úbé_ she roasted for me to show my mummy.
New people remind me of old people. Of the promises of forever that lasted till worth became what my worth was never. “See finish” is myopic. It assumes that who I met today is better than someone I’ve known for many years. Forgive me for being old fashioned but I believe that the years matter. If our bubble lasts a year, then we have beaten time and seasons that I’ll cherish again and again. Because while people change, you’ve changed and I’ve changed, but somehow we haven’t changed enough to no longer feel the other is less their worth. I have a habit of remembrance. Of beginnings.
I like taking strolls. A slow walk down memory lanes. I like seeing how first hello and hi morphed into not being able to do without. I like change. It has never scared me. That’s why I am never afraid of death. How people leave without a word’s notice. How they change. From being there to being mute. How someone who would kill if you shed a tear will lie there and sleep through your million wails. Tears changes people. Maybe the saline fluid washes a part of ourselves with it when it falls. When we clean it, we don’t just clean it. We erase something too. A trust, a love, a care, a joy, a part of us.
People change but I don’t blame them. I’ve heard people say the stories of their journeys. It’s why I want to make movies. So many untold stories. We judge too hastily for people with the ability to cry so much. And we hold grudges for people that fall short so much. I never got to visit aunty Chinenye because she never got married. Mummy will never see my wife, daddy too, with his funny mustache and remarks. Aunty Faustina will not make good on her threat to tell the woman that I’m stubborn on my wedding day. They all changed. Just like people do. They fell like flowers plucked from life’s petal, to wither on dusty earth. So go ahead dear, change all you want, I’m used to it.
Uc Truth
(C) 2022
A LETTER TO MY OLD RUGGED CROSS
Dear old rugged cross
Blessed are you among wood and timber
Because on you rested the greatest sacrifice ever
On that night at Golgotha
On you was my Jesus crucified
And now I stand justified
Before the God of my salvation and life
Dear old rugged cross
It hurts to tell you that many are lost
And those who remain cling to a civilised cross
They have forsaken the ancient landmark
While on a self-satisfaction task
Ignorantly falling to damnation on a fast track
Yes you may have seen some violence
But not as much as there is in my presence
For the love of men wax cold
And iniquity is in abundance
The time of true faith fades away
And religion, false belief finds its way
And unfortunately, the Christians refuse to take their place
I must confess you are quite heavy
And I might stumble and fall on this journey
But all my cares on Jesus I lay
Dear old rugged cross
On you, I sacrifice all my flaws
As I wait for my Lord’s applause
Yours sincerely,
The Young Believer
Ezeonyeka Godswill
(C) 2011
Goodbyes
It’s hard to say goodbyes
Always feels like a lump
Too big to swallow
Too hot on the tongue
Too sticky to spit out
Does Life play a trick on us
When it shows us love
When it watches us love
Then expects us to say goodbyes
Starting what it won’t finish
Because life never really ends
Here the comfort lies
When the Truth speaks
Pulling pictures to remembrance
All tagged with love and laughter
‘we had a good time together
I hope to see you again someday’
Pearly Thoughtz
(C)2022
My Shepherd
It’s in His nature to provide for me even when I don’t know what I want.
He feeds me with goodness and floods peace to my soul.
By His name, He restores me to sight each time I lag.
Even though I walk through hot coals with bare feet unending, He swallows up my fears in comfort with healing and gifts in His bosom.
He sets me up for royal treats in the darkest storms and redeems me with the outpour of his spirit and an overdose of merriness and joy.
Surely goodness and mercy follow me forever as I am now a host of His eternal spirit and life.
As the years draw nigh
With love shining in many forms
Like a rose among the thorns
I have come to understand and believe that everything written in the 23rd Psalm seized to be my responsibility the day I said YES to Him, my good Shepherd.
Imani Dokubo
(C) 2022
Christ a poet 