Fate is but a curious pattern of twists
An ode to the memories you'd rather forget
We are two halves
Two parts of a whole
Chaos ensues when our union is full
Modern day ecosystems are meaningless
We're a draconian species destined to go extinct
Bound by the theories of renaissance
We grab all we can and do whatever we want
Primitive and limited, foresight is prohibited
A far cry from the eyes of Egyptian pyramids
Here comes a blight that weathers no fight
Everyone going in different directions
Like sinking ships that pass in the night
No politicians plan beyond the next generation
Just until the extent of their own destination
The cupboard runs bare
The well has dried up
Millionaires groom their heirs
The muck has run amok
But the maiden was fair
Now we're all sitting ducks
The hourglass fills up at the bottom
Government bodies are callous masses of atoms

I was raised
in the place
you set ablaze
with your venomous hate,

sat astute
in my Sunday suit
to salute
a god who rebukes
real wisdom,

forced to worship
a sic sorcerer,
that enforcer
for the acts of
crueler dictators,

but I’d prefer
to speak plain,
to abstain
from the mundane
which chained
my childhood
to no good
creeps and cheats.

I’d like to set sail
and prevail
against those
who would jail
innocents
in favor of
corporate interests;

To beat thieves
who seek to
take these dreams
and make fortunes
in ashes and destruction.

I know some promises
can’t be kept,
and I can’t expect
to make the world better,
but I’d like to be
a man who tried.

I want to know the the truth
The privileged secrets known by the few
But they say it's better this way
A light in the dark
A hint of ignorant bliss on the wind
But what do I know?
I'm a everyday fool
I sing in the rain
I feel nice and safe
Or so I'm told anyway
I'm a no name
They laugh in my face
They dance on my grave
The ending's the same
It will all be ok
Such and such #strong
Remain calm and carry on
I'll guess I'll play along...
For now anyway

It robs us of our dignity
pilfers our humanity
and steals us away to
make love with greed
nothing is spared on its warpath
there is no consideration for the collateral
because the promise of something that will serve
the continuation of corruption
matters more than the lives it will crush

Esther Krenzin

secrets, are no fun,
secrets hurt someone,
for now, poetry can
garnish

the tree in my throat started budding, i coughed up flowers

shaped like ******* and my doctor

called the government

now they want to sever my neck, count my rings and guess my age

i am afraid the sap will start seeping and i am afraid

that you are committed to the idea of putting your ear against the hole

the government is calling again, this time of an alien kind

they are also curious

i offered them my toes, but only soil drained from my shoes when removed

i guess you’re going to have to sweep more often

dirt, petals, and alien footprints

If, I were Indian
I would be A. P. J.
AbdulKalam
descendant son
          And, to  be
          Gandhi's legatee

To marry a young
Nigerian senorita, to
give birth a pretty
And beautiful baby

To copy all I imitated
From my fore fathers
To lead Nigeria and, to
revolutionize the nation

To grow more than
Russia and to be
Like Saudi Arabia

They tell us,
About a great future.
They tell us it is coming,
Not today but tomorrow.

Our dear Nigeria,
A safari for its rulers,
Stealing our freedom,
Yet showing a victorious future.

Our leaders,
They keep on telling us,
Democracy,
Of the people,
By the people,
For the people.

They come as bearers,
Bearing freedom,
Removing slavery's chains and rods,
Yet trampling on our humanity.

Our leader's democracy,
A temple built with words,
Yet plastering it with,
Power and constant deceit.

They bribe our conscience
They fail to discharge their duties,
Yet singing victorious praises of their democracy,
Telling the world of vague achievements.

They play their drama,
Displaying it in public,
Showing a ****-a-doodle-doo of theatre,
Narrating nothing significant.

They claim to hear our cries,
Yet they are blind spectators of beauty,
Having no eat for our mass cries.

Democracy,
Their ideology of power.
Their way of life
A culture so dear to them

Democracy,
A backwash from future's deep
A begraggle of corrupt leaders
A pointer to Me, My Belly and I

They claim we have rights,
Yet they keep us in chains.
Their democracy,
An emblem of an immoral compass.

I look out my balcony window,
Waiting for change.
I stand at my front door,
Hoping for a brighter tomorrow.

My father waited
My mother hoped
I in turn prayed
Our children echoed

I dream of a great democracy
I dream of liberation
I put down my pen,
It is tired of being,
Mightier than the sword.

Oh democracy
I raise my hand up in your honour
Nigeria's democracy,
Our leaders' famous slogan.

closed minds,
provide for the loudest mouths,
while everyone is
quietly weird