For HIS Glory...

Wrong mood

2011-10-25T18:01:00.001-07:00

Wrong mood.

The excuse was wrong mood,
The medley her life had brewed,
Raw emotions showed up nude,
Nothing to do with lewd,
She’s no kind dude,
She was very rude,
Idle bystanders viewed,
Her stinging vitriol exude,
She didn’t let her anger brood,
Her manner very crude,
Her method not shrewd,
Never changed even though she’d been sued,
On the slightest slight she chewed,
It was her very food.

© 2011 afeseh ngwa hilary

Side shows

2011-09-14T18:50:00.001-07:00

Side shows.

Do not be distracted by the side shows,
Keep your dreams very close,
Pray through the highs and lows,
Even when opposition grows,
Think on your toes,
Be ready when life deals you throes,
And so called friends become foes,
When you cannot understand your woes,
Ask God to show you some of what He knows,
He can help you face the situational snows,
Fill your life with those,
Who’ll hold you through when life’s river quickly flows,
God can thaw all His wonderful plans you froze,
You are not one of those He throws,
Through His eyes you will see your future glows,
He’ll bless you but not because He owes,
Only because by His nature He chose,
You can be one of the pregnant seeds He sows,
But when He sends be one of those who goes,
Don’t deny Him like Peter before the cock crows,
In Christ your life can be one endless Glorious prose,
Before Him you must watch your pose,
Just let Him choose the doze,
Unleash the arrows from the bows,
He turns the cons to pros.

© 2011 afeseh ngwa hilary

Sun of rightousness.

2011-05-28T20:06:00.001-07:00

Sun of rightousness.

Son of righteousness,
The sun of righteousness,
Clothed in a song of righteousness,
I long for Your righteousness,
Your gong of righteousness,
Let me be flung in righteousness,
Even be hung for righteousness,
Climb a higher rung of righteousness,
Give my tongue for righteousness,
Be wrung for righteousness,
Reach the young for righteousness,
I don't want to go without you LORD JESUS.

© 2011 afeseh ngwa hilary

Diametrically opposed

2011-05-18T17:06:00.001-07:00

Diametrically opposed.

Life and death,
Diametrically opposed,
Paradoxically parallel,
In unusual relay,
One takes the baton from the other,
Yet in parallel they run,
Death is recycled to life,
From the ashes of the finite,
The infinite is born,
The grand ephemeral elusive eternity.

© 2011 afeseh ngwa hilary

If you want a King

2011-04-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

If you want a King.

If you want a king,
You better be a queen,
And a queen who is keen,
On having a perfect king,
Better be a perfect queen,
Some kings come in a manger,
So look beyond the clothes,
For some kings actually made of gold,
May not come clad in gold,
Look beneath the veil of skin,
The real king is in his heart,
The same could be said,
Of a man who wants a queen,
And is keen on having a perfect queen.

© 2011 afeseh ngwa hilary

My legacy!

2011-04-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

The cry of my heart on my birthday!

My legacy!

I can't imagine anything better,
Than being the clay in the hands of the master sculptor,
The idea in the mind of the master architect,
The brush in the hands of the master painter,
The words in the mind of the master poet,
The pencil in the hand of the master craftsman,
The soldier in the service of commander in chief of the world,
Let this be my legacy Lord,
Numberless touched with Christ,
By Christ, through me,
There couldn't be a life better lived.

© 2011 afeseh ngwa hilary

Cycle of life!

2011-03-24T07:26:00.001-07:00

Cycle of life.

Life, born in the same place as death,
Where the start of death is the same for life,
The next life always one moment away,
Your final breath always one heartbeat closer,
Whether we realize it or not,
For every life in every breath,
We die with the same,
Numbered years and days,
Numbered breaths and heartbeats,
Not for the accumulation of things,
But the rightful use of available resources,
Big or small,
For the most positive effect,
Ever constant betterment of defect,
Let the fear of death never paralyze your living.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Sacrifice

2011-03-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Sacrifice.

Giving is still measured in units of sacrifice,
Giving without sacrifice will not suffice,
One difference with the love of mice,
Is that man's love is gauged by giving sacrifice,
It is not just about feeling nice,
Be warm enough to melt the ice,
Be ready to pay the price,
It may be just about giving a hungry person rice,
It is not necessarily as easy as throwing a lottery dice,
Shake off the paralyzing 'love for comfort' vice,
You might need to do the shaking twice,
For others it might need a painful thrice,
For some more than thrice to be precise,
Love for comfort can be parasitic like lice,
I know how comfort can entice,
It can be greed's evil device,
By all means do not shun sacrifice,
It is the running currency of love.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

As long as...

2011-03-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

As long as,
There is injustice,
And galled prejudice,
One child who can't be educated,
A poorly attended pregnancy gone complicated,
As long there is one unsaved soul,
To reach them I give you my sole,
Let me be at the fore front,
Let me be at the front lines even in the face of affront,

Let me be your soldier against ills,
Let me be your vehicle of good,
Let me be the fountain head of your spring of provision,
Take my next breath,
Take my next thought,
Take my next move,
Even if it were the last,
Yes Lord let somebody breathe easier,
Because I lived.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Drug of perverted love!

2011-03-02T14:24:00.001-08:00

Drug of perverted love.

You two are on drugs,
Drunk in dislocated love mugs,
It is making you delusional,
...extremely delusional,
Caught up in an illusion of hope,
A hope which becomes worse than dope,
Impotent clouds without rain hang around your head,
In a haze which blurs the path you tread,
Stop smoking that weed of extramarital adulterous lust,
For it comes with a heavy cost.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Watch it!

2011-02-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

Watch it!

Fragile beyond compare,
With a concrete delicacy,
Which quickly eludes us,
Hanging from a strand,
As strong as the threads on a spider's web,
Watch it,
Live life to the full,
Don't be a fool,
The next second does not belong to you.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

The Pain of Mother Africa

2011-02-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

The Pain of Mother Africa!

Oh the pain of mama africa,
The pain of a mother,
That went through labour after labour,
Birth pangs after birth pangs,
Only to see all the children she suckled,
Suckled and nursed with undying motherly love,
With scant exception turn into rogue states ,
The pain of a mother seeing once brightly hopeful children turned awry,
All the pain in hell could not make up her sum,
But like a true african mother,
There is no quenching of her love,
No extinguishing of her hope,
No ceasing in her prayers,
As the future beckons still,
That these children will realise,
That they might have gone too far down the wrong road,
But the way back is still open,
That the mighty God will set and direct their steps on the right path,
That they be endowed with a rare spirit of sacrifice,
And compassion and love for one another,
That they will not be imbued with that uncommon apathy,
That they will be sewn together with an uncommon empathy,
For the strength to strangle corruption, nepotism and all the viral isms,
That a better tomorrow will soon come,
The pill to heal the bleeding on her heart.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Courage and Passion.

2011-02-20T21:12:00.001-08:00

Courage and Passion.

I make an entreating call to courage,
Make haste and supplant this rising rage,
Come on dear,
We must not run as fast as the deer,

Summon every courage you can find by grace,
Choking fear without leaving a single trace,
Fear of making the right choice,
Fear which robs the right voice,

Fear which fuels a rabid love for job,
Fear which leaves you with a secret sob,
Fear that commitment would rob career,
Even though pain from lack of commitment is very severe,

Give your passion wings,
Let the love bell ring,
Give your reason the reins,
Let the queen of love reign,

Together let's let courage,
Take us through every stage,
Let us not fear the future,
Let us mold the future,

It might be rough,
It might be tough,
But we only reach it when we try,
Daring still even when we cry,

That is how we cover ground,
Learning as we go around,
Mocking threatening torment,
Relishing the moment,

Shaking off fear's fetter,
Becoming very better,
Becoming pace setters,
Propelled by all our falters.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Perspective

2011-02-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

Perspective

Coming in from warm summer days,
Today would not make me very gay,
I would have met today with a sorry whine,
But I want to meet today with a celebratory glass of wine,
Because I am coming in from the bitter cold winter nights,
This weather feels so very right,
It is like a taste of heaven,
The lesson from life to me is,
Depending on where you come from,
Your current circumstance can be your haven,
It is all about perspective.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

A better place!

2011-02-10T08:58:00.001-08:00

hello everybody,
My heart is heavy this morning. A dear dear friend and brother just lost his daddy yesterday. Over the last couple of months, one friend or the other, one brother or sister has watched death descend, most times without warning, like a starving eagle and snatch with mind blowing precision one loved one or another, flying away with prey secured in its sinewy grip, across the chasm to eternity, to the great vast beyond. We lose on this side, eternity gains... and in a weird way death is a cruel teacher, reminding us with the rod of stinging loss, about the brevity of our days, the frailty of our lives, the wretchedness of our estate, the powerlessness of our being before that final breath at our nostrils; it reminds us above all that we must cherish one another NOW for the next second does not belong to us. Let us seize now and love one another - we do not have the luxury of waiting for the next moment, for we have no guarantee of it. Even as their departure strikes a painful melancholic chord, I can imagine these loved ones saying... I hope this encourages somebody. Jesus makes all the difference in a time like this.

A better place.

I lay down in the coffin,
My body lifeless like a muffin,
Slowly dragged in a hearse,
Pulled by a tender gentle horse,
Right around the bend,
To my earthly end,
To unite again with dust,
Every man and woman's inevitable must,
Though my mourners think it is a lifeless me they see,
I was long gone from that body to where the Savior I see,
Together with angels and loved ones before HIM we sing,
A place where even wasps and bees don't sting,
Take away the frown and wipe the tear on your face,
I am in a better place.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

The height of hypocrisy!

2011-02-07T23:33:00.001-08:00

The height of hypocrisy.

We expect the kids to know,
Contrary to what we show,
Before their very eyes,
We are cold like ice,
Cheapen human life,
Cheat on many a wife,
Send them to wars,
Expose them to whores,
Yet we expect otherwise,
Surely not a way to be wise.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Something more beautiful.

2011-02-04T03:46:00.001-08:00

Something more beautiful.

There is something more beautiful,
More beautiful than curves and contours,
Than valleys and mountains of body geography,

It is decency and modesty,
And integrity and honesty,
Truth and loyalty,
Rooted in an almighty God,

There is a reason why,
Even Marilyn Monroe,
Physically attractive beyond compare,
Went out with presidents,
Successful career,
Yet hooked her life to drugs,
A life she would later take away herself,
There is something beautiful,
Something more beautiful in deed!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

*I added the last couple of lines to the original poem I wrote at the bequest of a dear brother and friend who thought it makes the poem read better and I agreed - his name is Nkwain, thanks bro :) :).

Habit!

2011-01-29T22:10:00.001-08:00

Habit.

When habit becomes the sinking sand,
The place where creativity comes to drown,

Let the constant donning of the creative hat,
Be the one habit you never let to die,

Let the constant mining of the endless better,
Be a habit allowed to blossom and to bloom,

Without necessarily reinventing the wheel,
Crown your life with the precious crown of novelty,

Wear this habit,
Like a monk's habit.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

The agony of what ifs...

2011-01-26T16:53:00.000-08:00

The agony of what ifs...
As I watched you walk down the the aisle,
In the country of that beautiful isle,
In a dress immaculate and white,
On the wings of love very light,
As the pastor began to comment,
What ifs began to torment,
What if we had worked out,
I would be spared this emotional work out,
What if you had said yes,
I would be spared this psychological mess,
What if I had pressed a little harder,
I would not have been your relationship warder,
What if...
What if...
What if...
You would be walking down this aisle to me,
I'll ask your husband,
How he got what I couldn't,
How he dared what I wouldn't,
Even though our relationship I will very much miss,
I wish you every marital bliss.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Tsunamis of love.

2011-01-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

Tsunamis of love.

Love doesn't first ask why,
Unless why helps to answer the question,
How do I best meet the need,
Love finds the need,
And meets it,
Are you hungry?
If yes, love gives you some bread,
Is there cloth on your back,
If no, then your back shall be covered,
Are you thirsty,
If yes, love gives you a drink,
Have you been hugged and touched today,
If no, then love gives you some to last a while,
Love first meets a need,
A need for a prayer,
A need for warmth,
A need for a genuine smile,
A need for a friend and companionship,
A need for understanding,
A need for empathy,
A need for genuine compassion,
A need for joy,
A need for shelter,

Love never condemns,
Love never judges,
Love doesn't first ask why,
Except it informs the best way to meet the need,
The whys are secondary,
They will come later,
Why you are homeless,
Why you are hungry,
Why you are jobless,
Why you are a robber,
Why you are a delinquent,
Why you are a rapist,
Why you are corrupt,
Why you are a terrorist,
Why you are cold,
Why, why , why ...

Love asks and finds where the need is,
Then it meets it,
And this love,
Is stronger than a thousand tsunamis,
Love's creed is to meet the need,
How best?, is the primary question,
Every other thing is secondary,
And this tsumanis like all tsunamis,
Doesn't care about black or white, or pink or brown,
Doesn't care about rich or poor,
No matter who you are,
It will will blow you away just the same,
We all need it,
The worst of the worst crisis in the world,
Is a dearth of love,
A force so strong,
The best words diminish it,
So if everyone just looked around,
Found a need and met it,
It mustn't be anything big,
Even the smallest act of love is big,
It can save a suicidal life,
Something as big as,
Saying I love you,
And showing that you care,
By just being there,
If we all looked beyond ourselves,
And showed a little love,
What a world we would have,
Stop the finger pointing and the blaming,
Just love.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

No Mayflower.

2011-01-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

No Mayflower.

We didn't came on mayflower,
We were greeted with no flowers,
Only approaching plantations,
In my mind terrible dislocating calculations,
Shackles every where,
On my mind and my body during this trip with no fare,
Clothed in the branded inferior 'second class'
Looking up to the master's superior 'first class',
No different from the oxen in the field,
Except for differences in physical build,
Yet in the cool of may,
During one of the sweltering days,
The superior master left the matrimonial bed,
Through the path only the inferior tread,
Dragging our sisters, our daughters and wives,
Oh the pain of knowing could wring to death a thousand male lives,
On the hay,
Under night time's mask,
And in the wee hours of the day,
Giving our females a sexual task,
Nine months later,
Comes proof of the folly of the matter,
Half white and half black?
It is just the color of the skin,
Claim to first class doesn't make it so,
We all have the same passions,
The same needs,
We all want to be happy,
Taking mine doesn't make yours more.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Reflections on Martin Luther King Jr., the Christian beyond the pulpit!

2011-01-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

http://holyebony.blogspot.com/2011/01/martin-luther-king-jr-christian-beyond.html#more

A soldier's sacrifice!

2011-01-10T17:32:00.000-08:00

A soldier's sacrifice!

When duty's call is war's call,
Through me and other soldiers,
The nation must stand tall,
I look into my three year old's quizzical eyes,
Fumbling in my thoughts,
Stammering in my words,
Vainly trying to make her understand,
What daddy is about to do,
The risky escapade I am about to embark on,
Then I look into my wife's anxious eyes,
She understands but cannot accept,
As I hug them both trying to be strong,
As their sobs reach my ears,
And their tears wet my uniform,
I melt like butter before an approaching flame,
Emotional meltdown,
Then I seize myself in denial,
Rushing to the plane,
Many questions on my mind,
Who sent me to be a soldier?
I was not drafted,
This is a choice I made,
What motivated me?
Was it the money and the glory?
Was it mere love for the uniform?
Is it sheer love for my country?
As I continued to embrace my thoughts,
Even as I said my byes,
Praying I would return before I die,
It dawned on me the real reason I am a soldier,
It is for my daughter and my wife,
My family and my friends,
My loved ones,
My beloved country,
For when the national anthem plays,
My country seizes and owns me,
Maybe these are the lies I tell myself,
And these noble reasons why ease the pain,

As I told my wife we'll see when I get back,
I knew there's a real chance I'll be shot dead before I do,
I leave behind family, friends and the comfort of home,
Marching forward to the front lines of fire,
All that I am I bring with me,
My life and my strength and courage,
Imploring the almighty to be my guard and guide,
The whizzing of bullets,
The whistling of brutal winds,
The glow of enemy fire,
The deafening din of fatal volleys from the other camp,
The panic and constant threat of death,
Staring me in the face with every passing moment,
The thought of my little girl growing up without me makes it worse,
The weight of ammunition and armor on my body,
The trenchant shellacking from a merciless winter,
Fighting a war at many fronts,
Physically, emotionally, spiritually,
Occasional temptation from beautiful civilians in the zone,
The grueling pain of watching a comrade fall in combat,
The scars of trauma from just being there,
Causing the enemy's fall and watching comrades fall,
The sheer dilemma of saving life by taking away life,
The battles of moral justification between philosophies of war,
The mental battles are the most grueling,
As people die like flies,
Others disabled and maimed for life,
Oh the scars of living through this,
Accrued unpaid debt of sleep,
Going through every moment hoping the next will come,
And if is it doesn't,
Ah that killing thought,
That thought which kills me every moment,
Even before death ever comes,
But if the next moment never comes,
That God almighty will have me in his bosom,
And watch over my comrades and loved ones,
This is part of the soldiers sacrifice.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Abysmal ignorance!

2011-01-06T17:19:00.001-08:00

Abysmal ignorance!

My ignorance is abysmal,
Learning magnifies and makes it worse,
Education shows its true depths,
Knowledge broadens and exposes its true breadth,
The more I know the more I know I don't know,
Knowing satisfies quest,
Supplanting with greater hunger and thirst,
True knowledge fills a void,
And leaves a bigger one,
The real mountain top is elusive,
Surreal yet real,
One may reach it,
Yet it keeps growing like an active volcano,
Death's the grand portal to its true peak,
That last path is through the grave,
The path to knowledge in its fullness,
In the grandeur of the dual experience of life and death.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Too late!

2011-01-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

Too late!

Procrastination is in fact the thief of time,
Oh what agony rages in my mind,
One phone call too late,
A call that never was which knew too many dates,
One moment too late,
Now I'll never be able to tell you I love you mate,
I could have told you the last time,
I would have shown you the last time,
But cowardice got the better of me,
Fear became a fetter,
Convinced me I'll be able to next time,
But next time never came,

Oh the flame of agony burning in my soul,
I postponed the visit to your sick bed,
All the things I wanted to tell you,
Like how much you meant to me,
All the pleasant places I wanted to take you,
All the hurt I wanted to spare you,
All the things I wanted to share with you,
The silent agony of longing,
For one more smile,
One more hug,
One more touch,
Too late now, too late,
How can I make up for the missed opportunities,
Will you ever understand?

I may not be able to make the past right now,
But in your honor,
For my own good,
I am at war against procrastination,
It may take many battles to finally win,
I may not win in an instant,
But I vow today to try,
I promise to fight,
So the good I can do now I will do,
The call I can make now I will make,
The places I can go now I will go,
The 'I love you' I can say now I will say,

I am at war against keeping for tomorrow,
What I can do today,
Rest in peace my dear,
Rest in peace.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Sleeping giant!

2010-12-29T16:52:00.001-08:00

Sleeping giant.

At birth there's a reason babies cry themselves to life,
In response to that gentle shocking slap,
Foreboding the coming pain of the new kind of growth,
Growth beyond the comforts of the womb,
So it is okay for grown up men and women,
To cry themselves to the new life,
Just be sure the tears don't stop you from living life,
In the same way that crying from the shock of that birth slap,
Could make the newborn baby take its dying breath,

In the same token there is always a better person in every one of us,
Waiting to be shocked to life,
With an indefatigable prayerful hard work,
Wake that giant from its sleep,
With the gadfly of distressing hunger for a better you,
Whip that giant to life if need be,
With the flagella of painful enduring patient focus,
There is always a better person waiting in us,
In the womb of our status quo,
Which will only be born in the place of prayerful work.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Hijacking of womanhood!

2010-12-26T22:01:00.001-08:00

Hijacking of womanhood.

In your true womanhood,
You were more than all the treasures in any war chess,
Now you leave me groping in the dark with a guess,
Unable to recognize you in this mess,
Take off that extreme feminist dress,
You steal and derail the initial noble cause of feminism,
Modern day woman,
Better education and better jobs,
But mostly sorry woman,
Along the way you crossed an endangering line,
Lost your womanhood and most which makes you woman,
You are now neither a woman nor a man,
And not a hermophrodite too,
It was the woman I married who made me feel like a husband,
Now I just feel like another ram in the house,
Locking long horns trying to drink from the same bowl,
Unbalanced feminism makes a woman less,
Reach your fullest potential but never at the price of your womanhood,
It is your most prized possession,
Your most potent charm,
Your greatest strength,
Shake off that extreme feminist dress,
I long to feel married again.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Phenomenal woman!

2010-12-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

Phenomenal woman!

Stepping out,
Standing out,
From a crowd of look alikes,
Different but not indifferent,
Phenomenal woman,
Not because of the curve of your lip,
or the size of your hip,
But in spite of it,
Not because of the beauty on your face,
But despite it,
Because of the resplendent beauty in your heart,

Phenomenal woman,
With no desire to be a man,
No zeal to usurp his role,
Phenomenal woman,
Wife to the man,
Mother to the children,
Sister to the brethren,
Farmer on the farm,
Cook in the kitchen,
Teacher in the classroom,
Worker in the office,
Engineer or doctor,
Phenomenal woman,

Groundbreaking resilience,
Indefatigable persistence,
Amidst heartbreaking pestilence,
Even as victim of abuse,
Witness of abuse,
Phenomenal woman,
Unspeakable graceful strength,
Unbelievable loving power,
Flowing like a mighty stream,
Phenomenal woman,

Body bashed,
Face bowed,
Not in resignation,
But in quiet painful hopeful contemplation,
Scheming a bounce back,
Mapping recovery,
The spineless ignoramus looks down on you,
The world looks up to you,
Even when they realize it not,
Phenomenal woman,
You hold the skies of our humanity in place,
Nobody can take your place,
No man can replace,
Phenomenal woman,

You are too important,
You are too critical,
You are too vital,
You are too invaluable,
True humanity needs you,
Anything which threatens,
And endangers your womanhood,
Puts mankind at the very brink,
The brink of extinction,
Phenomenal woman,

Beware! Beware! Beware!
Beware of extreme 'feminists',
Beware of male chauvinists,
Beware of overarching careers,
Beware of an overly demanding world,
Like all these beware of anything,
Anything which vies to suffocate and choke,
The priceless jewel you are,
Phenomenal woman.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Phenomenal man.

2010-12-14T09:24:00.001-08:00

Phenomenal man.

Like the tree that has no need to prove it is a tree,
Its branches and leaves tell you,
Its fruit tells you,
Like a tiger that has no need to prove it is a tiger,
Its stripes tell you,
The ferocity in its fight tells you,
Like a lion that has no need to prove it is a lion,
The pride in its walk and its mane tell you,
The courage in its hunt tells you,
Like the sun that has no need to prove it is the sun,
The glowing resplendence of its rays tells you,

You have no need to prove you are a man,
A phenomenal man,
Your strength is not for abuse,
But for the human family's use,
Your intellect is not for misuse
You are the head of your household,
You protect and look over the women and the kids,
You answer the door in the late night calls,
You answer the call when responsibility knocks,
You help bring out the best in your wife,
You help the child shine the brightest,
You help fellowman glow a little brighter every time,
You are the brother, father, uncle, nephew, cousin, and son,
Trying to be better in those roles every time,
You are the breadwinner,
Your sheer humanity tells your story,
Your strength of character speaks,
The size of your compassion,
Phenomenal man,
Not because of big muscles,
Not because of a manly figure,
But because of what you do with it,
Phenomenal man,
Small, big, short, tall,
Has nothing to do with your size,
Everything to do with your heart,
And the quantity of love in it.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Enema.

2010-12-07T11:46:00.000-08:00

Enema.

Bile of vile like the river nile,
Flows words from a sick and bitter heart,
Hallmark of accrued and pent up grief,
By all means give that heart of yours an enema,
Administer doses of forgiveness,
First for the other and then for self,
No easy task I know,
Start by praying for the grace to pray for the other,
In the process the purging of hatred is helped,
Hate and love wouldn't cohabit,
If you want some love in your heart and life,
Serve hatred's eviction notice/order now!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

It all depends!

2010-12-04T01:07:00.001-08:00

It all depends!

Like somethings are better said unsaid,
Somethings are better seen in the dark,
It all depends!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

December First - AIDS I SPEAK TO YOU FOR MAN

2010-12-01T13:15:00.001-08:00

Today’s world aids day,

Aids, plural of aid,

Aiding to death’s bay,

Helping life fade,

It is not AIDS we celebrate,

It is the survivor’s mettle,

It is the path we deliberate,

It is not yet time to settle,

Today we draw our determination,

From the lives you maim,

We come against your insubordination,

In the victory we claim,

Today more than ever before,

You will not set the pace of the race,

As we indefatigably restore,

The dignity of the human face,

Oh Aids, your wife is penury,

You both thrive in perfect symbiosis,

With a vow, we shall not be guilty of perjury,

We come against your parabiosis,

We are all infected or affected,

Whatever it takes for winning, one victory at a time,

As we get our minds disinfected,

If we need to swim to safety we will become maritime,

I got a message for you orphaned child,

I got a message for you faithful widowed wife,

In your enduring patient hope do not grow wild,

Wild makes Aids rife,

Grandmothers become mothers to grandchildren,

Stepping in to fill the gap,

Praying children can stay to have great grandchildren,

As economic effects ripple all across the map,

The human resource and middle class choking,

Shocked by Aids’ deadly sting,

This is not time for joking,

Friends put on your wing,

Together we have to fly,

And make the frontline water tight,

This is not the time to lie,

We can’t win if we never fight,

Couples be faithful,

Spinsters and bachelors abstain,

Aids’ cousin is unfaithful,

Use a condom if you can’t handle restrain,

The enemy strikes veiled in passion,

Making you blind,

Effecting its mission,

Before you find,

It wouldn’t be easy,

If we don’t want to be queasy,

I know victory is on our side,

Together we can turn the tide,

So take a moment and look inside,

Find that something you can give with pride,

Never think what you give too small,

Little drops make the tide of might,

To sweep AIDS to a mighty fall,

So we shall not only make AIDS slight,

Together we can dwarf the AIDS patient estimate,

Together we can decimate,

In God we trust,

To give us a thrust,

We can prevent the next orphan,

We can prevent the next widow,

We can save the next worker,

The next life is waiting.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

The treasures in the dark place!

2010-11-28T20:15:00.000-08:00

The treasures in the dark place!

Like the gold and oil and precious stones,
Hidden in the pitch dark bowels of the earth,
Unspeakable treasures are buried in the dark place,
Yes, that darkest place of your life,
Don't just sit there and cry and whine,
Don't just seek to drown your reality in wine,
Pick up the spades and pick axe,
Even if you must cry,
Get your flashlight,
Prayerfully start digging dear one,
With every spade of dirt you throw,
You bring the treasure closer than you know,
There is a treasure in that dark place,
Which will blow your mind away,
Make you better not bitter,
Quit looking in the lit space,
You will not find it in the light,
So don't you dare run away,
Before you find that precious stone,
Otherwise the loss is yours to bear.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving.

Could have easily been a heartbeat away from death,
But you make it a heartbeat to the next moment of life,
For everything I give thanks for,
For every worthwhile thing I dare to do,
In my moment of truth,
When pride is drowned and humility brought to life,
There's a reason why I say it wasn't me,
Because God's fingerprints are all over it,

Today I am thankful for the things I take for granted,
Like the breath at my nostrils,
Like sound and peaceful sleep,
I am grateful for the ability and willingness to learn,
For knowledge of my own ignorance,
For the air in my lungs,
The bread in my stomach,
For potable water,

For teeth to help me chew,
For the pumping of my heart,
The blood of life in my arteries and veins,
I am thankful for the hands which type these words,
For the feet which still carry my weight,
For the hearing in my ears and the sight in my eyes,
For proper toilets,

I am thankful even for the difficult things,
The things which test me and tax me,
I am thankful for how You use them to make me better,
In exchange and traded by barter for the bitter me,
I am thankful for my family and friends,
Woes and throes and foes,
For in one way or the other they help me grow,

I am thankful for those who spend today in the heat of battle fire,
So that the bastion walls of freedom can remain standing,
For those who spend today away from loved ones and home,
To make sure I can be at home with mine,
I am immeasurably thankful for their selflessness,
For the lessons they teach me in their service,

I am thankful that I have a choice to choose to worship baal,
But if that choice was ever taken away,
And my only choice was to bow to baal by force,
Dear God,
Even in my thanksgiving I make a request,
If that day ever came when somebody or anybody,
I don't care who the person is,
Dared to take my freedom and ability to worship and commune with you,
If I was ever forced to worship anything but you,
Take me home with you before I bow to baal,

I am unspeakably thankful today,
For everything I have become,
For everything You do for me,
Big and small,
I am thankful for our humanity,
For all these wonderful people you bring into my life,
To hold me and help to mold me,
I am thankful for opportunities to serve,
To touch a life or two,
In ways big and small,
Above all I am thankful dear God that I still belong to you.

I am thankful today,
You are amplified and magnified in my praise!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Ground Zero

2010-11-23T13:31:00.001-08:00

Ground Zero.

This very place in which I was burned,
Hallowed spot where my giant structure tumbled,
Tumbled and crumbled,
Here I met life with a clash,
Parts of me hit the nearby waters with a splash,
From the purifying fire my ashes emerged,
Like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes I rise,
Taller than before,
Stronger than in the past,
Help me God,
In this place where my demise was hatched,
Let a better me be rehashed.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Imperfect mirror

2010-11-21T09:59:00.001-08:00

Imperfect mirror.

I stand before the looking glass,
An imperfect mirror,
Mirroring nothing of who I really am,
I see nothing but the guise of skin,
Doctored with human hands,
To suit a societal mores,
Tells me nothing about me,
Shows me nothing about the real me,
Then I stand before the mirror of the WORD of God,
O my ghosh!
I can barely look,
Confronted with a reality of me I never met,
I never knew me,
I have really never met me,
The real me,
The condition of my heart,
The wretchedness of my life,
The fractures and dislocations of my mind,
The filth and the stench,
Self righteousness now cowers before the truth,
A once delusive mighty me dwarfed before the King of Kings,
Now that I know me,
And my sick estate,
I let the master Physician,
Doctor me as He wills,
I let Him undo me,
I let Him break me,
I let Him melt me,
Re-mold me,
Equip me,
Fill me,
Use me as He wills,
Oh it hurts but I can't stand the bad in me,
I want a better me,
Now that I know me,
Boasting is fatally poisoned by truth,
I know and I know and I know,
That I am nothing without Him.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

What delight!

2010-11-15T12:31:00.001-08:00

What delight!

The skies are less bright tonight,
One of its stars is here on earth with us,
What a gift,
My eyes feast,
In unspeakable delight,
You are so beautiful,
If the lilies and the roses,
And all the most beautiful flowers of the world,
Could feel jealousy and envy,
They will instantly wilt on their stalks,
From the poison of a surfeit of the two.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Refugee child

2010-11-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

Refugee child!

I watched those near hopeless eyes,
Very faintly lit on a listless body,
Body familiar to hardship and suffering,
Testament of the inner strength of man,
She carved a more genuine smile than most,
Lean flesh on malformed bones,
Hapless and helpless,
Yes but not hopeless,
Hope didn't shine forth like a new moon,
But I could see it brewing in her every breath,

Oh life behooves every man,
With greater and better opportunity,
To reach out and lend a hand,
In lifting up every such sorry frame,
No refugee child earns that title for themselves,
Adults usually connive in their greed to make them so,
Nature might help catapult them to those depths,

But we have a collective responsibility,
Doesn't matter how you look,
Or where you're from,
Babies are innocent across the board,
Whatever you can do,
Make a contribution to protect them,
Show them some love,
Send them some care,
Educate somebody about the preciousness of children,
Keep their abusers away,
Raise a prayer to heaven,
Revolt against wars,

Every violent war is fundamentally against a child,
They cannot protect themselves!
They are the future of the world,
The child you can and fail to reach today,
Might be your nightmare tomorrow,
The nightmare of the world,
The bandit on your door,
Help a child today!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Paradox

2010-11-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

Paradox

The dams of heaven,
Over this little village place,
Bursting at the seams,
Overflowing its bounds,
Down in a gusty wall of rain,
Flooding every square inch of land,
While in many parts of the world,
Lands are parched and dying of thirst,
Having never drunk in ages,
Yet the excess in this place,
Wreaking havoc yet untold,
Cannot be channeled to quench that thirst,
What a paradox!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Scary day!

2010-11-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Scary day!

I got up this morning,
To a day as scary as hell,
Because I feel no opposition,
Opposition from the devil,
I might be on his side,
And the thought of it freaks me out,
I don't want to go without you God.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Watch your crowd.

2010-11-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

Watch your crowd.

Watch your crowd,
Could be a dark cloud,
Keeping the sun away,
Shutting out hurray,

Watch the company you keep,
Wrong one makes an adult creep,
Clip your wings,
As failure clings,

Pick your companions right,
Hold to your betters tight,
Crowds in which you are the best,
Are an anti-challenge fest,

Without challenge we can not grow,
Our betters encourage us to sow,
As faith feeds on adversity,
And talent taps from diversity,

Meet those who live your dream,
Read those who have been the cream,
Stand on their shoulder,
And be a better soldier.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

The arm pit of Africa

2010-10-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

The arm pit of Africa

See the African map,
Neighbor to Nigeria,
Gold mine,
With a few seeking to call mine,
Cesspit, Cesspool,
Dirty pool,
Arm pit of Africa,
Harboring lice of corruption ,
Accumulated sweat of mind and spiritual pollution,
Infested with bugs of greed,
Insensitive to common need,
Arm pit of Africa,
Starless night time with no moon,
Cee aiiye ehm eee and add the roon,
CAMEROON,
Exploited, manipulated,
Used and reused,
Misused and abused,
But there is hope,
Buried in those willing to pay the price,
And let another get the prize,
No prize too high to pay,
Any time, any day,
Hope, doggedly stubborn hope,
Born of those ready to cope,
In the fiery furnace of faith,
Indefatigable, selfless and loving,
Prayerful, patriotic and resilient,
Insistent and consistent,
Willing to work hard,
But also to work smart!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Circumstances of our birth.

2010-10-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

Circumstances of our birth.

I caught myself giving God counsel,
As He consulted with Holy council,

Questions about some things I know He has power to change,
Counsel about some things I will love to see Him exchange,

We don't decide what comes with everyday,
We only decide what we do with any day,

By the circumstances of our birth,
We may be born into dearth,

It is independent of our will,
Only the sanction of the Holy will,

This is for the child in the dark,
Who only knows poverty very stark,

This is for the child in the slumps,
Who lives only on the air in his/her lungs,

This is for the child with a brilliant mind,
This is for the child in the hardest grind,

Who may never be able to read the words I write,
Who has been robbed of every human right,

This is for the child in the womb,
On premature eviction to the tomb,

This is for the child in the heat of cross fire,
Yet alien to the Holy fire,

This is for the child on ten toes,
Who has known only many woes,

This is for the male child with the burdens of a man,
The female child with the pressures of a woman,

This is to the child who has never met love,
And knows not what to do in the face of love,

This is for the child of rape,
Clad in a doubtful drape,

This is for the child without a mother,
The child without a father,

This is for the child with terminal disease,
The child unaccustomed to ease,

This is for the child of violence,
Whose voice has been silence,

This is for the child shut off from opportunity,
The shut door can be an opportunity,

It is for you dear child that I bleed,
It is for you that I weep,
It is for you that in my folly, I question the Holy creed,
It is for you that I wish I was of another breed,

It is for you that I tried to counsel God,
That every child will be born to peace,
That every child will know the warmth of love,
That every child will have a good father and mother,

It is for you that I tried to plead with God,
That every child will be able to read and write,
That every child will be free of disease,
That every child will have a chance to grow,

It is for you dear child that I entreat the mercies of God,
That every child will have the same opportunity,
That every child will have the same obstacles to challenge growth,
That every child will become something,

And God said to me 'child'
Every child is already something,
No child is a mistake,
Every child is special,
There is a plan for every child,
There is a seed in every child,
There is an indomitable spirit in every child,

Those children, they give my love a chance,
They give my compassion a chance,
They give my sacrifice a chance,
They give my grace a chance,

then God went on...
I need a vessel to reach them,
I need vessels to reach them,
One person at a time,
We can reach one child at a time,
With enough vessels,
Like a million tiny ripples,
Together we can build a mighty wave,
And set in motion an impregnable tide,
To begin to overturn the assaults on children,
Together we can begin to give them a chance,
I want your partnership, not that I need it,
but you get to know me best on my JOB...
A tough job but fear not, I will be with you always...

And I said Father I believe, equip me and use me,
According to your will...
You can say yes too...be a vessel...
Child abuse can be retired from our world…
It will take you and me,
We can bring that day closer!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

If you mean it!

2010-10-22T19:41:00.001-07:00

If you mean it.

If you mean it,
Even when you eat,
Do it like you do,
Mean it when you say it,
Say it like you mean it,
Mean it when you do it,
Do it like you mean it.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Give it your heart.

2010-10-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Give it your heart.

Give your work your heart,
Do it with passion,
Unleash some compassion,
Give it your soul,
Otherwise it ends in still birth,
Child without a heart,
Art with no pulse,
That means it is dead,
Do not work at all,
OR
Give it your best,
Give it your all,
Give it your life,
So work can come to life,
No one is immune or indifferent,
To work that throbs with vivacity,
Reaches out with vitality,
Work that grows on humanity.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Why did you marry?

2010-10-17T20:52:00.001-07:00

Why did you marry?

Did you marry for the glory and fame?
Be careful that can be the price for shame,
Why did you marry?
Was it to grab headlines,
And at worst hit footlines,
Lines like 'wedding of the year?'
Where you conscious of all you have to bear,
All the storms you have to endure,
Which punctuate the bliss and make your humanity pure,
Why did you get married?
Was it merely an escape route for the sexual urge?
Is it a vent for all the things you feel the need to purge?

You'll be sure to find out life is bigger than emotions,
Larger than promotions and demotions,
Why did you get married?
Was it in order to make a social statement,
To get a waning prestige re-instatement?
Why did you get married?
Did you crack under peer pressure,
Pulled by a killing desire to meet the peer measure,
Was it used as a wheel to office,
Was it for the auspice,
Did you marry an engineer or doctor,
Or did you marry a human being - the human factor,
Was it for the title,
Or was it for the mettle,
Was it for nationality,
Way out of internationality?

Why did you get married?
Was is just for the kids?
Sanctify your deeds,
You will be disappointed when you miss the point,
It is a union where purposes are joint,
It is deeper and more profound,
If you hurry experience will painfully expound,
Purify you motives,
Before you get on the marriage locomotive,
Know marriage is to make better,
Shouldn't be a fetter,
Let love be your aim,
Your method,
Your end,
For in the end,
Love still conquers all.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Childlike innocence... not childish innocence

2010-10-15T10:15:00.001-07:00

Childlike innocence... not childish innocence

There is nothing nice about being childish,
Tastes like immature radish,
There is something glorious about being childlike,
It doesn't mean attitude should be mild like,
How I miss the childlike innocence,
Without all the human reticence,
Whatever it takes to communicate,
Even though they might finally miscommunicate,
As they show you with their tears,
The pain which fuels their fears,
How I miss the openness in the hugs,
Without the potential for emotional tugs,
Gosh I miss those most honest shrugs,
From all who behave like bed bugs.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

What society made me.

2010-10-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

What society made me.

Hard-work's great,
But balance is the trick,
I am what society's made me,
Both parents spend long hours at work,
Leaving me starved of much needed love,
Starved and left with no other choice,
I tried to fill that gap without,
In a life of wine and crime,
Because somebody spent some time with me,
And loved me in the gangs in the street,
I tried to find it in the laps of another,
Sought to fill the gap with crack,
Pumped it into my veins and arteries,
And even sniffed it,

High like a kite,
I tried to soar like one,
But I am yet only human,
My wings only in the figment of my imagination,
Before reality of my winglessness dawns on me again,
I am behind bars,
For crimes I can barely recollect committing,
Claiming a cop's life for example,
Dad and mom worked so hard,
And fed my delinquent lifestyle with their excesses and their lack,
Excess cash and lack of love,
Love never present,
Never shown, never expressed,
Material things poorly substitute,
I am what society's made me,
Delinquent children like me,
Classical products of delinquent societies,
The answer's not in the jail cells,
The answer's a reformation of households,
A reformation of society,
A radical reformation of the world.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

No man is better!

2010-10-10T18:30:00.001-07:00

No man is better!

No person is better than the other,
All born to the same wretched estate,
Only grace makes the difference,
So stop drinking from that cup,
That poisoned cup of arrogance and foolish pride,
Subtle yet more sure than the hemlock cup,
Which stopped the flow of Socrates' genius!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

A woman's charm.

2010-10-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

A woman's charm.

One of a woman's most potent charms,
Is just being a woman,
Fully a woman and nothing else,
Not as the world sanctions or endorses,
And not as the world wants or pleases,
But just as she was and is made to be,
A woman,
And the thing which appeals to me the most about you,
Is the woman in you :-) ...

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Worship

2010-10-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

Worship.

The waves bellowed in base,
The gathering storm of praise drummed,
The winds sang in a shrill falsetto,
The trees whistled against the blowing wind,
Singing in tenor,
The dry leaves played a unique instrument of their own,
The flowing rivers played an instrument of their own,
The moon greeted from above,
The stars flashed lights to the earthen stage,
In a thunderous praise,
Nature roared worship to the King of Kings,
Who came down in showers to inhabit the praises,
What a chorus!
What a choir,
Better than any human voices could ever sing,
What an orchestra,
Better than any human hands can play,
A celebration of the genius of His creation,
It seems to me of all the works of His hands,
Humanity worships and praises Him the least.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Curtains are drawn!

2010-09-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

Curtains are drawn!

As summer exits nature's stage,
The curtains are drawn in showers,
Autumn's in dress rehearsal,
Readying to come on,
Flipping over to nature's new page,
Trees clad in colors of every hue,
Lighting up the world with mind blowing refulgence,
Before they fall in preparation for winter's cold assault,
All what's summed in summer,
And bloomed in fall,
Will fall in autumn's gentle winds.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Fake people

2010-09-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

Fake people...

You know they are fake,
When they eat your cake,
Claim your rights,
Bring you blights,
Try to put off your lights,
Cherish your painful nights,
You know they are fake,
When it is always for their sake,
When they greet you with a smile,
And before you go a mile,
You feel a forceful jab,
As they back stab,
They are plastic,
Their morals elastic...

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

War!

2010-09-21T16:52:00.001-07:00

War.

When we go to war,
Because of our want for more,
Not because there is a need,
But fueled by rabid greed,
Choking a love creed,
When a good war is maimed by avarice,
Fought with cowardice,
Sheer force is glorified,
Inhumanity magnified,
Peace is dethroned,
And violence enthroned,
The global village imperiled.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Strife in life!

2010-09-17T15:49:00.001-07:00

Strife of life.

As long as you have life,
You will have strife,
If you want nothing to do with strife,
Then take away your life,
Escape to a death cape,
Coz in a spineless coward's cloth you drape.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

All you have is now...

2010-09-15T14:14:00.001-07:00

All you have is now...

The last moment and yesterday like spilled milk is gone,
The next moment and tomorrow like rain might come,
Leave the past behind,
To neither future nor past be bound,
Even when past and future ghosts hound,
Because every tomorrow will soon become today,
If you focus on tomorrow you never fully live today,
Today and now is all you have,
Give it your best,
Let the lessons from the past shape it,
Let the dreams from the future guide it,
With yesterday gone,
And an unsure tomorrow yet to come,
Live your all in now,
In case the next moment and tomorrow never come.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Botox

2010-09-12T17:04:00.001-07:00

Botox.

In case you haven't realized,
The magic of botox is only skin deep,
The internal vital organs are beyond its superficial reach,
Fool the world with a new plastic face,
It cannot erase the inner scars of passing time,
Like it or not,
The clock is ticking within,
You are as fake as a wig.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Ageing

2010-09-08T22:29:00.001-07:00

Ageing.

When the glamour of physical beauty,
Under the weight of nature's ageing duty,
Wilts as surely as the most beautiful flower,
Unwelcome visit from wrinkle's power,
Beneath the walls of beauty's tower,
When trusted youth has cowered,
Youthful vigor and vitality clobbered by passing time,
What shall be left?
What character?
Beyond the chamber of voluptuousness,
What substance will there be?
So if you married somebody for physical beauty,
You'd be a widow(er) once the same has faded,
Then life becomes jaded,
Seek ye also the beauty within,
Beauty so deep seated that time and age cannot reach,
And nourished it grows from bloom and bloom,
Blossoming to an eternal climax,
When dust returns to dust,
And it is liberated into the eternal company of the creator,
From whom all the true never fading flare and beauty come.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Priceless

2010-09-06T15:44:00.001-07:00

Priceless.

I have been told,
That I have to be very bold,
Especially when life scolds,
Never recoil in a fetal fold,
Life demands courage manifold,
Fear can be like toxic mold,
Market yourself and you will be sold,
Shake off that pessimistic cold,
You can sell like gold,
But you must always hold,
This truth in your heart,
There is no price tag on you,
You are priceless.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Ethnic cleansing - a people at the brink of extinction.

2010-09-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Ethnic cleansing - a people at the brink of extinction.

Once upon a time, royalty was the fashion cloth of many a nation of the world but gone are those days. Even though Kingdoms ruled by autocratic Kings have faded out of vogue, the vestige of this once sought after status resides in the small land locked Kingdom of Swaziland in Southern Africa, no more than 200 km north to south and 130 km east to west. While Kingdoms are typically associated with wealth and prosperity every wise, prosperity in any sense of the word is a guise worn as a mask by a few elitist royalty and close associates in Swaziland.

Something is happening in Swaziland, something similar in proportions to the ethnic cleansing which threatened Kosovo and Rwanda which the world needs and must pay more attention to or never again will we as a race ever be able to look in the mirror of our humanity and see humanity, all we would see would be distorted inhumanity, thick skinned enough to let an entire nation evanesce from the face of the earth. HIV AIDS is slowly, deliberately, subtly, fazing, and decimating an entire people with the certainty of a high richter scale magnitude quaking tsunamis. All of this is happening before the idle watch of the world.

Ever since the first Swazi cases of AIDS were reported in 1986, the virus has spread untamed and now 26.1% of the country's adult population are infected, effortlessly making it the highest HIV prevalence rate in the whole world, and the spread is still on like a wild harmattan fire. To better appreciate the devastation AIDS is causing the country, out of a population of about 1.1(one point one) million, around 10,000 adults and children died from AIDS in 2007 alone, and around 15,000 Swazi children up to 14 years of age are living with HIV, with an estimated 56,000 children orphaned by the disease. As a sequel of this unspeakable devastation the life expectancy of Swazi’s is now just a meagre 32 years - the lowest in the world. This figure projects that for every child now born in Swaziland, ceteris paribus, they would die in 32 years, almost two score years shy of the Bible prescribed three score and ten. This fractures my mind to imagine that if I were Swazi, because I am living through my thirty first year now, and not even at the prime of my youth yet, I would have one year to live. I cringe at the thought – God have mercy.

If these facts and figures hold true then this country is one at the brink of preventable extinction from the hands of an enemy which we now know and can ably contain. To get a better perspective of the woes of this nation, if you can, watch "Without a King", a documentary which literally tugged my heart strings and drew a tear to my eyes, with realities of life which made my whole being coil back in protest, almost refusing to accept them, yet they are true for so many. Some of the realities leave me almost guilty for the quality of my small life.

Oh my goodness, before my eyes I can still see that kid drinking from the dirty stagnant cesspool which is an only source of drinking water, I can still see a people so oppressed it has almost become an acceptable way of life, a people so choked by fear of the iron fist of a cruel and selfish king, so much so that, they would embrace, worship and adulate the same hands which oppress them; I can see before my eyes, behind a haze of tears a gap between the poor and rich so wide it makes good and evil look like brothers; I can see the contrast between the ruling and the ruled so stark, it makes light look like darkness. A person is a person, born in a palace or born in a cave and no person should go through what some go through.

Oh how the twin fiend of poverty and HIV AIDS, wedded in polygamous union to ignorance can ravage and decimate a people!!... There is an unfolding tragedy endangering the entire existence of a people before the watch of the world and a selfish King. There is possibly more work to be done than we can finish in our lifetime and while it might be naive to expect to see these multiple and unacceptable yawning gaps closed and completely bridged in our lifetime, God helping, we must watch no longer. I personally feel dwarfed by the enormity of the challenge but let it better be said that we didn't succeed, but never that we didn't try.

With a story like this we can have a better appreciation for the freedoms and luxuries we enjoy, what we have become, and we honestly didn't do anything to be born in our countries or families and not so much to be in circumstances where we can continue to pursue the dreams of our lives. While my heart strings were painfully tugged, a fine chord of gratitude was struck by 'Without a King' and getting to know Swaziland. The world must act now or history will judge this generation harshly. We have borrowed this present from our children and we have an obligation to give it back to them better and brighter. Let the international organizations of the world and powers which be, help this nation out of this dark valley of despicable health and economic malaise.

1. UNAIDS (2008) 'Report on the global AIDS epidemic'
2. Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland (2008, January) 'Monitoring the declaration of commitment on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) Swaziland country report'
3. UNAIDS (2008) 'Report on the global AIDS epidemic'
4. CIA World Factbook (2009) 'Swaziland'
5. Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland (2010, March) 'Monitoring the declaration of commitment on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) Swaziland country report'

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

I am also including with this post, comments from my friend and brother, Kingah Stephen Sevidzem who has way more experience with this issue than I do. He worked on it as part of his PhD thesis. He has worked/works in Brussels, Belgium as an Oversight for Commission relations with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other regional development banks wherein EU Member States are shareholders (08/09); and At the University (EU Commission; Free University Brussels), drafting publications on a) international and European rules on access to medicines and b) the World Bank; and also acting as visiting lecturer, i.a, at the College of Europe and at the Universities of Amsterdam, Mozambique and Strasbourg.

"Which article I found to be really good and strongly worded. And rightly so as this is an issue that provokes passion and neglect in equal measure. I felt so strongly about the issue that it was part of my thesis. Yet one is often baffled by the mismatch between the need and resources. I have actually come to realize that some efforts are being made to deal with the problem at various levels or scales. However as you rightly noted the enormity of the task is great. This is not eased by the fact that various countries are confronting different kinds of problems associated with aids. It is a complex issue bro. I believe that the Global Fund, the Global Business Coalition, the International Aids Vaccine Initiative, the Gates Foundation, the Clinton Foundation and even some trade flexibilities have been put in place to help some countries.

But the snag is often at the receiving end where governments may be ignorant of the challenge and solutions or where they me be simply unprepared or unwilling to deal with the problem. So there is an issue at the receiving end that can be partitioned into a problem of political will (which you rightly raise in the case of Swaziland); ignorance and poverty. The giving side of the equation is not entirely holy. One can always bullet the bureaucracy and delays that stiffle efforts to channel resources to those in need. In addition, solutions are often to generic and detashed from what is happening on the ground. I have moved around a bit in Southern and Western Africa and came back with the impression that those at the headquarters are often not aware of what they are talking about par rapport the field. Even in the field, international diplomats and NGO types are so tugged in their own ghettos that no one really knows how to match the enormous resources that have been earmarked to the needs of those in Kayelitcha (SA), Nyanya (Abuja), or Old Town Abakwa. The challenge is enormous but as you rightly put it we have to try."

Estella

2010-08-30T16:21:00.001-07:00

Estella.

Oh Estella,
I thought you were stellar,
Oh What a reception,
What a deception!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

She is my mother!

2010-08-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

She is my mother.

She might be a whore,
By the whore clothes she wore,
But she is my mother,
She might be vain,
Cocain in her vein,
Marijuana in her brain,
Hitch hiking life's train,
But she is my mother,
She might be homeless,
Because she is jobless,
But don't mess with her,
She is my mother,
She might be just another woman to you,
Just another human being in the world,
Swelling up the statistics for Aids,
Just another face in the crowd,
One more delinquent to deal with,
But don't you dare mess with her,
She is my mother,
She bore me for nine months,
Fed me and sheltered with whatever life she had,
She never gave me less than she had,
She gave me her warmth and love,
She gave me what she could,
In a silent moment of loving me,
Giving me all she had,
Right in the womb she gave me AIDS,
But don't mess with her,
She is my mother,
My imperfect mother,
Beaten and broken by circumstances of her birth,
My weak mother,
My sinful mother,
My precious mother,
She felt all the birth pangs of my birth,
And I hear I had a big head at birth,
Don't you dare mess with her,
She is my mother.

*one of the things which rings so true in my personal life with that of the young man/institution I impersonate in the poem is the love for my mother...

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Critique

2010-08-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Critique.

When they criticize your work,
Court a better luck,
With a better work,
The charm is hard work.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Smile

2010-08-21T15:12:00.001-07:00

Smile.

A smile which charms,
A charm which disarms,
Breaks the defenses,
Drops the pretenses,
A smile which warms,
Pleasant emotion which swarms,
A smile which travels the miles,
To the heart through dangerous river niles.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Who are you?

2010-08-16T19:15:00.001-07:00

Who are you?

I have a question for you,
Who are you?
I know you are black or white or brown,
But who are you?
Yes you are from America, Asia or Africa or Cameroon,
But who are you?
I know you are a doctor or engineer or banker,
Who are you?
Beyond the clothes and shoes,
Beyond the color of your skin and the hair you wear,
Beyond the nationality and the tribe,
Beyond the career and the job,
Deep down within,
Who are you?
What substance are you made of?
What is the fibre of your mettle?
Who are you?
What is the weight of your humanity,
The content of your love and grace,
The expression of your compassion?
Who are you?
What is it which makes your heart beat,
Makes your adrenaline rush,
What is it which keeps you grounded,
When all is breaking around you,
What is it that gives you peace,
In the midst of that heartbreaking storm,
Who are you?
Behind all the veils and the masks,
What do you do when no one watches,
The thoughts you think in the secrecy of your mind,
That is who you are!
So tell me,
Who are you?

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

I am leaving and living!

2010-08-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

I am leaving in a moment,
I am living in the moment,
I am not living for the moment.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Too young to die!

2010-08-09T00:35:00.000-07:00

Quench that fatally deceptive thought,
It'll make you postpone battles which you could have faught,
Go check the tolls of war,
They will make you very sore,
I have seen them die at every age,
Some without a dime to their name,
Both athletic and maimed,
Some worth a million dollars and some minimum wage,
I have seen them still at birth,
Born to mothers with plenty and mothers with dearth,
I have seen accidents sweep all ages to a massive grave,
Seen disease sweep the young in a mighty wave,
Without warning and without known cause I have seen them eternally sleep a peaceful sleep,
Leave loved ones behind and bereft to weep,
I have seen death visit the hamlet and the palace,
I have seen death visit Bafut and Wallace,
I have seen death surely fatally gnaw the begger and the rich,
I have seen death steal a young life through poisoned sandwich,
I have seen it claim a life through a serpent's sting,
But that is better than death through a traitor's sting,
Doesn't matter how pleasantly or viciously he comes,
He despises age, wealth and knowledge in tomes,
I pray you will live long enough,
But kill that deceptive thought,
Give this moment your best,
Just in case the next moment never comes,
You are not too young to die.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Another girl!

2010-08-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

Another girl.

Canal which has seen the passage of eight female lives,
She lay there wasted from the pangs of labour,
The labor and work of child birth,
Takes a scolding for having another girl,
Hopeful anticipation of the coming of a heir,
Morphs into hateful deception,
At the reality of a contending heiress,
Foolish frown from the foolish man,
Who holds within his loins,
Power to make a female or a male,
He is spared nine months of pregnancy,
And spared a smacking,
For the scolding he now dishes out,
Which should be rightfully doled to him,
It must sting with killing ache,
To be blamed for circumstances,
Far beyond your control,
God have mercy on us.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

To a very special doctor.

2010-07-31T18:48:00.000-07:00

You are very special,
I don't get a chance to tell you many times,
So I write this note to say,
You are special and very much so,
Endowed and blessed beyond compare,
Long hours at work may ache your muscles,
And bring you fatigue,
But the positive difference God uses you,
To make in the lives of your patients,
And those around you,
Puts a pretty crown,
On all efforts and energies spent in that endeavor,
Those who can go back home,
Back to living life again,
Because you went to work and worked,
The hope you bring with the doctor's touch,
And the unique privilege for that touch,
To replace the frown of pain,
With a smile of hopeful anticipation,
Be nourished from the sweet nectar of His presence,
And may you continue to find strength,
And reason to enthusiastically give,
So that somebody can breathe easier because you lived,
That is a lofty noble call,
Whose highest reward is in it,
keep that smile on your pretty face,
It is still the best make up known to man,
And by doing so, just maybe,
You give others permission to do the same,
The patient who comes in,
Not sure if the next second will come,
And even if that last next second doesn't come,
You can help them spend the current one,
The very last one,
With love, care, hope,
And a smile on their face ...
God bless!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Nature's master stroke

2010-07-25T23:52:00.000-07:00

Nature's master stroke.

In a quick moment,
You bring torment,
In a few strokes,
You carefully stoke,
A tornado strikes,
Power on wind bikes,
In the next stroke,
Again you carefully stoke,
The fires of fine art,
With one of nature's parts,
The most beautiful rainbow paints,
Work without a taint,
Your master strokes,
Your genius strokes,
Contrasting events with contrasting effects,
One leaves defects,
Both inspire awe.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Foolish Pride!

2010-07-22T20:45:00.001-07:00

Foolish pride.

What is it that makes you swell and feel so proud?
Makes you feel you earned a right to stand out in the crowd,
Is it because you think you're intelligent and so very bright,
Believe me there are many so bright if they were light,
They will make you feel like night,
What is it which makes you feel so right?
Is it because you were born in royalty,
And many a people owe you mighty loyalty?
What did you do to be where you are?
To ride in a big and fancy car,
To go to school,
And learn the craft of many tools,
What part do you play in keeping your heart beat?
You could have been born in a jungle and be lion's meat,
What role did you play in not being born in the heart of war,
What role in being born in a family where you can always get some more?
Don't tell me it's hard work though you might work hard,
Many work a lot harder but their life's still so very hard,
What is it you did to prevent you from being born in a cave,
What kept you away from the place lethally hit by the Tsunami wave?
You could have been a genius born without a chance to go to school,
A genius born into crime with cocain in your veins and the mind of a fool,
You could have been still birthed,
My friend you have no control over these events,
Same as you have no control over the sleep event,
So what makes you think you are absolutely in charge?
Check that foolish pride,
Which still sure goes before a fall!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Pleasure!

2010-07-20T17:21:00.001-07:00

Pleasure.

The appetite and pressure for pleasure,
Fed and met without restrain,
Soon becomes an addictive drug,
An addiction on growth hormones,
And pleasure which otherwise should be a treasure,
Brings us double trouble in full measure.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Past and life

2010-07-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

‎... in life,
you can decide,
decide to while away your life,
whining and blaming your past and life,
and be embittered by it,
OR you can decide to learn,
learn the lessons from your past and life,
and become better because of it...
the toxic effects of bitterness and hatred,
start in the heart which harbors them...

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

No turning back!

2010-07-08T15:32:00.001-07:00

No turning back!

That I will find no excuse even in lack,
There can be no turning back,
Even though it is so dark,
And growling foxes bark,
I'll press on to morning,
Otherwise I court a mourning,
There is no turning back,
Even though emptiness defines the water sac,
An unreachable flood beyond the ark,
There is no turning back,
Even though heaven seeds the skies with potent clouds,
With dying strength in my waning clout,
There is no turning back,
When the rains do come I'll quench my thirst,
Ready for a flood and keep on the quest,
There is no turning back,
Even when a crushing loneliness presses in on every side,
I'll channel the pressure to make my horizon very wide,
There is not turning back,
Even when I hit a wall,
And before I know I fall,
I'll find a way around,
Or make a way through the ground,
With the hammer of perseverance I'll hit the wall enough times,
Until I hear it collapse in powerful chimes,
In a symphony of rapturous break through,
Many walls lie ahead it's true,
Many nights will silently creep in still,
But so will morning when you have a will of steel,
Bitter winters will rock the comfort of fading fall,
So would spring again rescue from the cold wall,
If I must reach that lost and needy soul,
New ground must kiss my foot's sole,
If I must reach that hungry child,
Help tame a world gone wild,
Bring the light of God's might,
To somebody in the night,
There is no turning back,
There is no justifiable reason for turning back,
When God paves the way!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Stop the hypocrisy.

2010-07-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

Stop the hypocrisy.

If you hate corruption,
Don't you dare give a bribe,
And don't take one,
If you court the end of illiteracy,
Send an illiterate to school,
If you hate the hunger in the world,
Feed a hungry mouth,
If all the lying makes you sick,
Give the truth some life,
If you hate the hatred in the world,
Love somebody today,
If you hate the frowning in this place,
Put a smile on a face,
Even if it is yours,
It is as contagious as the cold,
Leave the things you hate alone,
If you can't stand the dirty streets,
Don't litter them yourself,
And pick up that littered paper by your side,
Do the things you want to see,
Stop the hypocrisy.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Memoire fatale.

2010-07-01T20:05:00.001-07:00

Memoire fatale.

Memories of our time in the woods,
Knight me with a thousand knighthoods,
Memories which hallow an otherwise common place,
Where you resurrected the dying sun with the smile on your face,
When we watched the doe and the buck,
Grazing daintily with the grace of swimming duck,
Deer romance which made ours pale to nothing,
Oh that magical moment I will trade for nothing,
Memories of you in my arms,
Memories which turn against me with arms,
Which nourish a killing desire,
Light an all consuming fire,
Desire for one more time,
This time we'll celebrate with the finest wine.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Wild Beauty!

2010-06-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

Wild beauty!

Oh my goodness,
She is beautiful,
Modestly clad in skins and beads,
Expression of a wild kind of beauty,
Without the encumbrance,
Of the make up hand of (wo)man,
Soaring and towering,
Unfurling and unfolding full expression,
Conjuring images of that oasis of beauty,
In the heart of the vast natural forests,
Flowering trees and greenery,
Wild orchids and flowers of every hue,
Wild bushes of roses,
Planted and nursed,
By nature's very hands,
Enabled by the Almighty God.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

A child is a child.

2010-06-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

A child is a child.

Children don't ask to be born,
Let us spare them the pain of being torn,
They don't choose their families,
Even when they are beautiful like lilies,
They happen in their circumstance,
Because of adults' stance,
They are at the whim of chance,
Depending on the kind of adult responsibility dance,
We have an obligation,
To do a child abuse ligation,
So as long as you are a child,
You can be spared a life very wild,
And every child can get a chance at life,
With opportunities very rife,
A child is a child,
In the palace or in the cave,
Let us treat them right,
Spare them from societal blights.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Father

2010-06-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

Father.

Fatherhood does not end with the donation of sperm,
It is in fact the beginning of a father's term,
Head of the family,
Live the good father's homily,
If you've been an absentee father,
Know it hurts when you're farther,
Work and the past is not an excuse,
You can't be recluse,
If your father was terrible,
Strive to become adorable,
Children don't just want your money,
Even with that childhood can be horny,
The family needs your time,
A complete family clime,
A father's best gift to a child,
Is time spent grooming the child,
If you have been a bad father,
Choose to be a better father,
Be the role model,
Or the world will provide any model,
I thank every father,
Especially my own father,
Happy father's day.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Silence!

2010-06-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

Silence!

Fascinating word,
In a fascinating world,
Silence can speak the loudest,
In fact it can speak the cloudiest,

It can be a helpful mask,
When knowledge is called to task,
Hiding the ignorance,
Shielding the arrogance,

It can be a knife,
It can save a life,
It can fuel injustice,
Sanction every prejudice,

It can mean there is no voice,
There is no noise,
It could also mean we cannot hear,
Even though it is so near,
And the voice so clear,

In the same vein God's silence,
Is when we are so caught up in self and violence,
That His voice is drowned,
Where self is crowned.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Nurse

2010-06-01T22:24:00.001-07:00

Nurse.

If you ever became a nurse,
Let it not be only because of your purse,
Otherwise a noble work becomes a curse,
It must be a calling,
To the falling.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Ill

2010-05-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

Ill.

They say the food made me ill,
Gave me a high fever which brought me chills,
So the doctor gave me pills,
From the tablet box lying on the window sill,
I lay there very still,
Praying to have a small bill,
At the end of this health drill,
Thank God it didn't kill,
And now I can fill,
A tommy with an empty feel,
So that I can climb the next hill,
According to God's will.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

The best criticism - the best revolt.

2010-05-20T23:46:00.001-07:00

The best criticism - the best revolt.

The best revolt,
With a healthy dose of electric volt,
Requires better than a colt,
The best criticism,
Requires better than an eye trained to see the flawed ism,
It is concrete action,
Might require interaction,
Actions taken to change a broken status quo....

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Present.

2010-05-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

Present.

God's best present to humanity,
Is the present of His presence,
Through the vicissitudes of life,
That present is in the present,
Receive it,
It is now,
Material gifts can be gross,
Gold as good as dross,
All I need is you Lord...

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

The blessing

2010-05-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

The blessing...

There is not a better blessing,
Like the blessing,
Of being a blessing,
There is a not a better place to be in,
Than in the position,
Where blessing is your name.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Blind mother.

2010-05-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

Blind mother.

I salute the blind mother,
The mother who sees so profoundly she is blind,
The one who has seen enough to be blind,
To be blind to the tribal origins of a child,
To the circumstances of their birth,
To the color of their eyes,
To the color of their skin,
To the name of their country,
This mother's day,
I salute the woman who only sees a child,
And every child summons the mother in her.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Jayne and Fru...

2010-04-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

I wrote this for bosom friends of mine within an hour of learning that they were engaged and planned to get married! They are now married and I am fondly thinking about both of them today... I have been privileged to watch their love story unfurl like a fern... may the full essence of marriage become a magical reality in their married life... in putting this up, I salute you - Jayne and Fru...

Jayne and Fru!

Shakespeare must bite his finger in his grave,
Wishfully thinking he could satisfy his crave,
To write the love story I see nature tell,
One which nothing has been able to quell,

I saw it when it was just a fragile bud,
I saw love bloom from friendship's bud,
Love which weathered the storms of adversity,
One determined to ridicule the tempter's atrocity,

Love which will cling on anything to revive,
Do everything necessary to survive,
Ride the waves of the pangs of separation,
Hitch a hike on the back of trust,

Sail in the ship of hopeful anticipation,
Against tides of assailing seas of loneliness,
Love which has endured pain,
Made some tough choices,

Love which has embraced hurtful sacrifices,
Refused to give up,
Denied to break up,
Vowed to make up,

Love which has survived temptation,
Healed from the fatal stabs of betrayal,
Neutralized the poison of jealousy,
Doing whatever it takes to go on,

Every time with bigger vitality,
Suffocating a benevolent neutrality,
Investing in another,
Until one becomes the other,

Without losing individuality,
Giving each other room to grow,
To grow for the other,
Letting the wings of adventure grow wider,

And now the two shall become one,
So today as I continue to learn from love,
May you two love one another to the death,
Fru and Jayne...

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

What a small man!!!

2010-04-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

What a small man.

Some giants walk around in a liliput's skin,
As I first set eyes on him,
I could not contain my thoughts,
I irresistibly blurted out,
Oh what a small man,
But I met him all the same,
As wise word after wise word,
Dripped like honey from his lips,
I began to see a transformation of a man,
From small to mighty big,
From liliputian to giant,
The giant who would be my husband,
The servant,
The great visionary,
Peace and justice missionary,
Very interdisciplinary,
The love of my life.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Nature's tantrum fit.

2010-04-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

Nature's tantrum fit.

Can you see nature?
Can you see it continually throwing tantrum fits?
Can you see how nature quakes,
And shakes the earth in violent indignation?
Can you see the cyclones and tornadoes and tsunamis,
Run across the earth at break neck speed,
Ripping and leaving a massive destruction in its wake?
Can you see, Can you see, Can you see?
Vast skies shower the earth in copious diarrhea,
Flood the lands and drown the tallest man,
Yet a famine rocks parts and pockets of the same earth,
As parched and thirsty grounds die to quench their thirst,
Dormant volcanoes erupt in apparent protest,
Spewing and puking enough to paralyze the skies,
Unpleasant surprises cook up in the bowels of the earth,
Question for you nature!
What do you protest?
What is it which angers you so?
Are you just a pawn in God's divine hands,
Fulfilling the inescapable Biblical prophecies?
Are these birth pangs for something greater yet to come?
Where have we gone so wrong?
Humanity is helpless and hapless,
In the enormity of your strength.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Summoning every grace...

2010-04-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Summoning every grace...

The way is rough,
I need to be tough,
The pace is fast,
The die is cast,
To finish the race,
I summon every grace,
I stumble and fall,
But rise to the call,
That higher call,
To give my all,
In stead of crying,
I will die trying,
To pass the test,
And bring the best,
To turn a slip,
Into a flip,
To a new page,
Ushering in a new age,
A clean break from the past,
To opportunities very vast.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

I marvel.

2010-04-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

I Marvel.

Winter's barely gone away,
I marvel this morning as I watch blades of grass,
Still wet from the bath of morning dew,
Shining in the morning sun,
Oh they bore the brunt of winter days,
More than man will ever know,
Carrying feets of snow,
Yet,
They refuse to cling to that painful past,
And grow at the slightest chance...
I want to be like those blades of grass...
Help me God :-)

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Young People!

2010-04-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

Young people.

Drop the bottles and pick up the spade,
Stay away from every drug trade,
Drop the gun,
Back to school with a run,

Use those wings and fly,
The skies anxiously beckon with a sigh,
Waste not your potential,
Make your growth exponential,

You are the hope of the future,
Shapers of the current culture,
Make it what you want,
Let nobody tell you you can't,

It wouldn't be easy,
If you don't want to be cheesy,
You have to weather the storm,
It only helps to keep you in form,

Take your time to grow,
Prepare the ground before you sow,
If you care about the quality of harvest,
Path might be through a mountain like evarest,

You can beat the climb,
Use the rocks to climb,
Enjoy the journey,
If you want the honey,
You have to brave the bees,
If you want fruits you need to plant the trees.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Trigger of vengeance

2010-03-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

Vengeance is a cold meal,
Never been known to seal a deal,
When you pull this gun's trigger,
You make every problem bigger,
Vengeance lacks ability to troubleshoot,
It has great potential to kill every thing's shoot,
It is an act of imprisonment,
The birth process of a disillusionment,
That it can make you satisfied,
When all it does is make you dissatisfied,
Forgiveness is the antidote,
And one of freedom's many notes.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

True peace!

2010-03-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

True peace!

True peace is not the absence of storms,
It only exists in contrast with the truest raging storm,
It is the still,
It is the quiet,
It is the sang froid,
The assurance that somehow the next moment redeems itself,
That the almighty is in total control,
In the eye of the angry storm...

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Wasted hours

2010-03-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

Wasted hours !

All the time I cry,
When I should try,
All the words I say,
When I should pray,
All the time I am embarrassingly ridiculous,
When I should be meticulous,
All the time I spend misjudging,
When I'll be better off not judging,
All the time I spend unbelieving,
When I will be better off believing,
All the time spent courting foes,
When we should be close,
All the time I criticize to demonize,
When I should empathize,
All the hours spent hating,
When we should be loving,
Wasted hours.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Blame game!

2010-03-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

Blame game!

Started from the days of Adam and Eve,
It is still true today on eternity's eve,
You know you have done it before,
Thinking it will lessen the consequential sore,
Not knowing it is irresponsibility at its core,
Don't blame it on an absent father,
Resist the temptation to blame a drug high mother,
No excuse for you to be high like a kite on drugs,
Don't yield to the pressure from society,
Decide to shape society in stead,
Be a thermostat,
Stay away from the jail cells,
Don't stash your future away behind bars,
Don't blame a brother or a sister,
Refuse to blame another,
Take some responsibility,
Clean up your act,
Get some help,
Make a difference in your life,
Drop the blame game,
It is the devil's best game,
Don't be his ally,
He is your enemy,
Confront your demons,
Denying them will not send them away,
Your every tomorrow can be brighter,
It all depends on you,
No one can live your life for you!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Fall of a great man!

2010-03-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

Fall of a great man!

Many a great man have met their fall,
Not at the barrel of the gun,
Neither by the edge of a sword,
Nor by a friend's tongue of betrayal,
But by the flames of lustful passion,
Stoked by rabid fleshy desire,
For the fire of sinful pleasure,
That listening ear to the skin’s pleasure plea,
That second look,
The one too many glance,
At the wrong place,
Those secret meetings,
Under the guise of too much work,
It is on that wave of satisfaction,
In an illegitimate passionate frenzy,
That many a great man have ridden to their fall,
The cremation of life bodies,
By the nibbling flames of lustful desire,
So Beware!!!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Don't clench the fist...

2010-03-11T03:27:00.000-08:00

Don't clench the fist!

Don't clench the fist,
It is not a physical war,
It is mental,
It is spiritual,
Don't clench the fist,
You wouldn't be able to hold a hand,
Open the hand,
So that a blessing might be received,
When received stop clinging to the things,
Let them pass through you,
Let the blessing flow,
Be blessed but bless another too,
Otherwise clinging to things,
You wouldn't be able to shake a hand,
You wouldn't be able to give a hug,
You wouldn't be able to receive one,
You wouldn't be able to carry your baby,
Don't clench a fist,
But if you must,
Make it mental,
Make it spiritual,
Let your target not be man,
Make it evil and every negative ism.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

What Colour/What race????

2010-03-05T20:56:00.001-08:00

What Colour/What race????

Strip the multicolored skin,
For evidence of closer kin,
The color of the blood,
Gushing in a flood,
When a black man bleeds,
Because a white man leads,
Or the other way round,
We need to come around,

Take away the scalp on the skull,
Just a brain beneath the skull,
Neither white nor black,
Like all the organs beneath the belly sack,
The color of the bones,
Unlike the different kinds of stones,
Is the same across race,
We are all tied by a human lace,

Tighter than we will ever know,
A better/clearer sight will show,
That beneath the color of the skin,
We are a closer kin,
All wanting the same basic needs,
Driven by the same Divine creeds,
So we have to show a better love,
Confront division in the human clove,

Love transcends all high walls,
Reaching to all noble calls,
Smile and care are eloquent in every language,
Can be a good race gauge,
So let us mock our divisions with healing,
Celebrate our differences without killing,
Look beyond the the skin of every human,
And just see a man/woman,

For...
What is the color of care?
What is the race of love?
What is the tribe of a smile?
What is the village of compassion?
What is the dialect of a hug?
What is the mother tongue of a kiss?
What is the color of sex?
Answer please, answer, answer, answer!

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary

Child Labour

2010-03-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

Child Labour.

Not writing about a pregnant woman’s child labour,
But about child labour,
About child prostitution,
And child destitution,
About children in the army,
When they should be with their mommy,
About children in factories,
And children in industries,
Who work hardest,
Their jobs the crudest,
Their pay minimal,
Their treatment animal,
About children hawking,
And children working,
When they should be in school,
Studying to make their future cool,
This is what we, God and nature are against,
This is what we need arms against,
Not guns and bombs,
To multiply the tombs,
We need love and peace,
To regain every valuable piece,
To negotiate a bright future,
Which follows the laws of nature,
To avoid to get the future complicated,
We need to get our children educated.

© 2010 afeseh ngwa hilary