Success is a long road,
With many stops and frustrations,
Failure creates unwholesome situations,
But a strong heart is a welcome goad.

SOMETHIN' GOTTA GIVE!
WE OR THEM,
ONE MUST DIE FOR THE OTHER TO LIVE!
**** THE SYSTEM.

for many ran on fumes,
these few years,
living daily on hope,
and nothing else;

a great number wanted,
but the heavens never granted,
the privilege to see aturn in the tide,
to the dearly departed, sleep on;

and for the quick,
welcome to making history,
a rare opportunity to be amongst,
the countable, the reachable, the available;

whatever it is worth,
the next four can never be as darkly,
as the eight spent in vast backwardness,
time truly deserving to be forgotten;

but for the lessons learnt ,
nothing nostalgic of the cowtostrophic era,
every single element will get what is deserving,
karma always finds a way;

and for the hopeful many,
may your aspirations meet rapid improvements,
because today marks a departure from irreverence,
into days and nights of renewed hope.

This decent lady,
Courted by all and sundry,
She'll turn out fine,
Getting better, like maturing wine.

They greeted the millennium with renewed hope,
Welcomed the new era with more expectation,
Military jackboots had been put to the rope,
Civilian turncoats can now tend the plantation ;

So every four years they mount the soapbox,
Preaching prosperity in the clouds,
Telling the People to give away their sovereignty,
Over cheap promises of beds of roses.

Terrible searing pain,
My heart is rendered,
All smiles flee my face,
My country achieves no gain;

Dashed hopes is all we get,
Our beautiful history made in sweat,
The passionate reward is whose to beget?
Alas! my country is no where yet;

It is all slipping away,
Athletes, boxers, weight lifters,
Jumpers, footballers, pin-pongers,
My country struggles all the way;

And at a time,
When change is a rife,
Endless propaganda across the clime,
Perhaps, a good time, to end her life?

You're a shooting star against the darkened sky,
You're a red rose in a sea of white lillies,
You're a breath of fresh air in this stale world,
You're a gold nugget in a dark coal quarry.

Please, end this reality now,
For the torment of these ****** times are unbearable,
Please, restore the joyful times now,
For we yearn the times so memorable.

Burdened by the gluttony of pudgy fingered politicians,
And their endless breaking of putrefying wind,
She heaved a huge and resounding sigh, very loudly,
And, with unbounding love, laid down the troublesome load.

Everytime she conceives,
Their joys know no bounds,
But this overdue term,
Will end in tearful frustration.

But there is a place in the west of Africa,
Named after a river called the Niger,
The people wander in random confusion,
In perpetual experimental commotion.

After the ashes,
And all went quiet,
Reality opened new doors,
To emotions never buried.

Angrily, I said no,
Because she broke my heart,
Ten years ago,
And I did not want a restart.

What if humans were sexless,
And had ******* only with the mind?
Then attraction would be perception,
Based solely on antennae selection.

Anytime I pick myself up,
To make something for the girls,
Consciously, I make myself stop,
Thinking like a ******* slave.

I'll pay you back,
Trust me, I'm beyond your attack,
For every help you got for free,
I'll double it, and then times three.

We sleep daily at the pumps,
And get crushed by failed brakes,
This country staggers to the dumps,
And everything is up for cheap takes.

Under the hardship of poverty,
And persistent lack of anything comfortable,
The people have turned a brutal lot,
Not minding whether their leaders perish;

But why blame them?
All they have known is impoverishment,
From cradle to grave is a struggle,
With no affection from the top;

The people attend rotten hospitals,
Learn, if at all, in crumbling schools,
Move around in rusty public transport,
And are buried in overgrown graveyards;

And when the forces bless their tormentors-in-chief,
With ailments of Eastern origins,
And cannot go to Western lands for cure,
The people are glad, and dance to karma's melodious rhythms.

Cacophony of colours,
Bombastic bedlam,
Deafening distortions,
Onomatopoeic obfuscation;

All a mumbo,
And annoying jumbo,
That thingamabob,
Or is it a thingamajig?

Things we barely pay mind,
Stuff dancing around the mind's corner,
Clutter of confused emotions,
Just there, causing misdirection.

Fire arose from his eyes,
And every sinew quaked and trembled,
Each strike thundered and rumbled,
Forcing the breaking of many ties;

She had no idea, no, not one,
Love had found her at last,
Only to leave her this fast,
A few moons and they were done.

Yes nothing,
Yes high blood pressure,
Yes breakups,
Yes confidence out the window.

No, mother,
Do not be afraid,
Here I am, the man, that you have raised,
You can go to sleep, smiling, now, with no bother.

And she smiled,
Aglow, thoroughly satisfied,
She eased up, reclined,
Sated, she belched but refined.

Peeled of all identity,
Suffers untold ignominy,
Uprooted from the soil that he was birthed,
Now enjoys the luxury a notable deathbed.

I am not afraid,
To be honest with you,
My love for you is true,
Sharper, it is, than a two-edged blade.

If you can see me now,
Will you be proud of how,
Things have turned out,
And give us a big shout?

No! Not by any measure!
All of that for their pleasure?!
People wake up, please?!
The State is not at ease;

Easy targets, very easy,
Abducted by pampered terrorists,
Dismembered by bloodthirsty ritualists,
Everyday people, under siege;

But they sit in lofty places,
Make a lot of faces,
Trod on the rights of others,
And give frivolous orders;

Simpletons turn on simpletons,
Coconut heads that know nothing,
Get in useless arguments,
Over senseless debasements;

Get serious, people!
Do not treat as fickle,
Encourage not their gluttony,
Worse, much, than capital felony.

So I surmounted the obstacle,
That did not make us cool,
I want you in my arms,
Even If I have to pull down a thousand dams.

The day gradually chills,
Of a full table and an empty pocket,
Cash zoomed off like a rocket,
Tonight no high stakes, only cheap thrills.

I hunger today, now,
To fill the mouths, yes, tomorrow,
This hustle, it is all, that I know,
And no, I will not, never, borrow.

Crushed, you left me aground,
You took all, even my soul,
Now you have created a ghoul,
Something hateful this time 'round.

What's the intent behind it,
Rushing off to set questions after eight moons?
But who's the devil here,
You or your paymasters?

This cycle of wickedness must stop,
Downing tools in protest of measely wages,
Extracting promissory notes after rolling weeks,
Only to subject frustrated young minds to ad-hoc examination?

The claim of sitting on ashes,
For days on end,
In favour of a more beautiful system,
May just be undone by this callous act;

If truly you desire a future workforce,
Better than the generations before,
Then act like you truly care,
Allow time to re-engage;

Cultivate their fallow minds,
Back to productive ways,
After all, what glory is there,
In being successful with mass failures?

The hands moulded by fate,
But turned too late,
For destiny bear you no plan,
To flourish in my glorious clan.

In the matter of,
Justice versus commitment,
The defense argued lovingly,
About the prosecution's sweetness.

Love is not a two way street,
For when you get in,
And pair with whom you see fit,
Then you give and give, even through the thick and thin.

Looting money is an unnatural affair,
May be out of fear,
Or a deeper handicap,
Not unlikened to stuffing loads of crap.

Hiding! Right before our very eyes,
Shining bright, dressed in a thousand lies,
The very one that drew tears from us,
Had ridden off on the midnight bus.

Mama, you belong, now, to the ages,
"Dada awuru ya'le ya'gi oko, baba mi!"
I remember you'd fondly call me,
Rest on, Mama; We love you.

The weight of your emotions,
Is taking a burdensome toll,
Sorry, we no longer can roll,
Alone, I'll sail life's oceans.

Our hearts have been broken,
And many spirits shattered,
It handed them a token,
Yes, we will take this hard.

The fiend rushed through screaming like a banshee,
Catching the sleepy lawmakers in a terrible fright,
The golden staff of office glittered in prostate silence,
Only to be stolen in rapturous, disharmonious free for all!

The many fiends rushed through screaming like a banshee,
Catching the sleepy lawmakers in a terrible fright,
The golden staff of office glittered in prostate silence,
Only to be stolen in rapturous, disharmonious free for all!

Beaten by nature,
Beaten by fate,
Abandoned by the future,
Shackled by hate;

Everything against us,
Nothing works,
All conspire against us,
Nothing works;

Robbers gain entry,
Ransack our spaces,
With brazen effrontery,
Descecrate our ladies;

Kidnappers abduct us,
Demand huge ransome,
We sell the horse,
But ****, regardless the sum;

Terrorists massacre worshippers,
Leave trails of congealed blood,
Whole families in tatters,
Children cry, "why Lord?!"

Soldiers brutalise,
Intimidate and harass us,
Shoot with evident lies,
Then carry on without fuss;

The police betray truly,
Always hostile,
Never friendly,
Quick to open case file;

The government hate us,
From cradle to grave,
They rob us,
Then force us to behave;

The people, non wiser,
Mob and burn one another,
Rather than bond together,
They allow differences tear assunder.

Divided from within,
Torn by rumours and avarice,
Children grow into selfish service,
And hearts are closed to love and sharing.

And she's all I've got,
Unique being, out of the lot,
Unimaginable personal sacrifices,
Deserving all of life's aromatic spices.

My shadow and I are in great dispute over you,
He says he loves you better than me,
I say I love you better than he,
We both cannot seem to know what to do;

Thus we ask:
He says he loves you more because he will be with you during the night,
I say I will love you forever, and always, when it is bright,
Now, we beg you, put an end to this aching task?

This one, puts a smile upon my face,
That, wears me out, much,
I am in this questioning phase,
Between them, who to take to church.

There is no one like my love to me,
No matter how plain she may be,
I have traveled all o'er the land,
Even been to England,
But, there is no one like my love to me.

Wrap your heart around me,
Embrace me with your soul,
Let all tongues see that you own me,
From head's hair, to feet's sole.

Nothing works here,
Nothing has, maybe never,
Everything is for a price,
Some things require even more;

When men of the creeks,
Suddenly said goodbye to peace,
And embraced every evil form,
Planting fear into one and all;

All sorts of carrots materialised,
Thick ones, juicy ones, even the strange,
A taste for the better things,
Bigger headache for the authorities;

Who will chain the monster,
On the loose, terrifying all,
Insatiable taste for carrots,
Always wanting more and more?