The absence.

I'll write you a letter
telling you of the earlier disquiet
of the days without your presence
Hope the postman doesn't open ma letter
Or try to read through by the piercing sunlight.
I'll mention the rigid days
That follows a routine
and that makes me sooo sick.

But I'll also tell u too
that the babes are well,
They're coping.
Sometimes little Ann calls your name
thinking you're in the other room
She hasn't known counting days
To know how long you'll stay before u come back
Mich still does her homework
And every time i bid her goodnight
She knows that you're one day nearer
Even when you're far
They still think you're just around
And that's life
A little sacrifice here and there
and then its over.

W'look forward seeing you every other time
And miss you
every time you say goodbye
Nudging the hope
of meeting next time
And so w're lucky to have known you
Lucky to have crossed the paths of your life
We can only thank God
E'vry time we meet.

Don't be worried.

When ma lifes' over
and no more breath passes
when the heart beats no more
and I'm over at my fathers place
don't let ur hearts be worried
I'll have done my part
I'll 've shared Gods delight with you
I'll have told you not once
What i had been sent to do
down here in these scary place.

When no thing interests me
And my soul rests in eternal realm
Do not be scared by the silent nights
I'll have shared Gods' love with you
I'll have travelled with you
twice as much
Later when u too join me
We'll make a chorus in heaven
and the angels will join us.

And so when I'm here
in this long sojourn
i can't but wait for directions
From he who sent me
from he who knows my name
from he who knew me
Long before mama knew me
because u know,i existed
At the start of the times
And will be there
when the last of the times is sounded
In readiness for a new beginning
So don't be worried-rejoice.

Short End

If a man gives you bread
and waits just in case you drop some
if a carrot is dangled
just so you could forget your deserving meal
then what appears isn't what is
because then its not genuine
shortchanged is the name
that attracts men to ways seemingly good
but then tis all destruction at the end

i don't wanna sing my last song
because then
the singer appears a captive
of the forces that don't want him singing
a parrots early morning song isn't stopped by anothers'
yet there is space enough for both
and an audience twice as willing to listen

why then do you give the short end
the one that slips from the hand
as easily as it comes
what do you gain
when you rally your money might
and drive out the poor from their homes
so you may find ground enough
for the evil mans delight
this short end will take you closer
to the worms that devour with haste
so i don't wanna stop this
till you tell me in my ear
that you've left this game for a better one.

What can be done?

In a continent that bleeds with rage
where the only drapery
that conceals our nakedness
is but tatters that expose our torn out souls
In a continent that doesn't prepare for war,
until war erupts
And we butcher each other
with what weapon that's close
when we have cried for so long
and our bodies 're drenched in sweat
that shows the toil and the burdens we carry
and we still don't learn
what can be done

Whats the curse of Africa
Or better still-
Is there anything like that?
Is there a blueprint
that lays bare our Canaan,s plan
what can be done
when the sickly babes get no better
and their mother's got no money
And the states coffers are empty,
Emptied by those who've got the keys to the vaults
Is there hope?
OK-there is,only in heaven,only upward
If we don't keep up our spirits this way
we will just die
and be forgotten like our brothers and sisters before
they sucked so much steam it killed them.

generations of war children
poverty stricken grown ups
who know nothing else
except HELP!
a people whose ambitions are muted
and their plans exist only in their feeble minds
Not that they've got a weak spirit to match!
No.
what has killed them silently is dependence
crazy culture has killed their dreams
unknown phantoms have made visitation
and destroyed what good remained after the worms of fear ate the rest.

what can be done?
to uplift Africa
to give its people a voice
to remove the snare that surrounds their mental framework
Is it not to detest what others think of Africa
and do,and be,and stay like Africans.
is it not to break the cycle of dependence
and till our lands again like our forefathers used to do.
is it not to love one another?
and hate only the seeds of discord
tell me please-what can be done?

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE

Through out generations-or better still,over a long period of time,somebody stretches peoples imagination beyond a point.Its so nourishing to see good records broken and made better.And who else does it better than this golden lady from Naija gifted with a trans-generational memory and a wild creative mind.I must admit that i am reading her novel for the first time-Half of a yellow sun-and i have not found such fertile imagination in the recent past.So far so good-i don't even expect her to disappoint me all the way to the last page.But then, if she is reading this article,then she has no option either but to better her best. Africa is on a wild search for identity.The winds are blowing from North to South looking for 'any good' that may be gathered together to move the continent to the next level.It doesn't mean that there are no other good writers in Africa.No.Nay,that's not what i mean.
Before her,there was Achebe.Ngugi wa Thiong'o has been there and done that too.All of these guys awed us with their words.Their styles and their impact has been indelible in our minds.But this is what i say-We must stretch that a little bit more.We must write,write and keep writing.In a hundred books,we will never fail to have one that trashes the chains,makes a breakaway from past limits and breaks new ground.
Before that has been done,let me continue reading half of a yellow sun...then Americana.
This is a new dawn.

LIFELINES RELOADED

Everything changes!Even tectonic plates shift.But when the changes come in order to enhance,enlarge and even arouse,then we say the change is for the better.When change comes,some people fear but others see the sprouting of a new bud;a new life-a continuation of the present into perpetual time.
That is what LIFELINES have done.We have changed and we cant look back.We have a new clothing that enhances our stature and position in the society we live in.We would have wanted to restrict ourselves to the first calling but a time comes when you need to embrace variety so you can preserve and even enlarge the impact of your first call.For over four years now,we have written poetry and about poetry.We have sieved the best and given it to our readers.More lines have not found their place on the page-probably an e-release or a hard copy publication will do the trick.
Meanwhile,we have enlarged our vision and our mission is more clear.Like Saul who got converted on his way to Damascus,we have realized our calling mid-journey and are ready to thrill our audience with wit,wisdom and info. all the way.Moving forward,LIFELINES will be about people who are doing or who have done astounding /great things in Africa and beyond.Its about new frontiers being carved.Its about good books which once in your hands you cant keep down.Its about messages from men and women of honor in Africa who are shaping the life of the inhabitants of this great continent into the new world dispensation.Lifelines is about spectacular places you can visit and havens being carved in the midst of life going ons.And without forgetting where we have come from,LIFELINES will continue to be a fertile ground for beautiful prose and engaging lines.LIFELINES will be a cache for the good life that everybody craves for.It will actually be a mastermind community for a more better and freer society-And that is LIFE-The Good Life.We promise that every line that gets published will elevate your conscious to a level you have never known before.Love you all!

Unbridled

Once,twice,thrice,
and the straps broke loose.
I had known before,
that i had it in me.
But since i feared the feeling,
i hesitated not once.
Not even twice.
I had started it before.
I had met the people,
In the chambers of my soul.
I had nurtured the will;
had tended the garden
and freed it of the weed.
In deed, i had watched
as the light flashed
across my soul.
The light had nudged me,
to drop the fear,
Till one day i called to order
the last remaining heroes of my soul.
and i awoke unrestrained
Free as the wind.
Unbridled!


Looking back at the time,
that evening that looked like a morning,
looking at the soldiers
that lined the pathways of my soul,
I knew for once,
that though sometimes i walk alone,
i can never really walk alone.
At the behest of the will,
I acted.
And now am free as the bird of the air.
Besides every tag at the fashion shop
is an equal value
In something else.
Further,
every child knows its mother
Intuitively,they can tell
Its she who cares
and they care less
of who else.
With a light in their mind,
and a torch that bears the emblem of their desires,
they walk through life,
Unbridled.Unrestrained.
Free as the wind.