It's not until I don't have you around that I realize how much you mean to me

Every day went by wasted telling each other lies.

Trust me, you are not all fine and dandy every day, so you don't have to say that you're doing well if you're not
because I'm probably not fine ether

I really don't like how you kept things to yourself because I don't have a lot to look back on

But I guess that means I cherish every tidbit of your life that you've told me
Every sentence about your past is another puzzle piece you have given me

But I have begun to realize that this puzzle will always have some missing pieces

I used to be part of your future and in that singular moment I was a part of your present, but then I quickly became part of your past

I wanted so badly to become your friend-your partner in crime

You were hesitant, a little on the shy side

But now all we have to do is look at each other to understand each other's thoughts and feelings

I used to hide behind an imaginary shield because I thought there is no way someone like you would be friends with me
But then you slowly peeled away my shell and left me bare for you to take care of and I thank you for that

When you strutted into my life, your poise and properness took me by surprise because there aren't too many people in this society who still say yes mam and no sir to their parents

You taught me that it's not what's on the outside that counts
It's what's buried deep within your  heart that only shows it's true colors every once in a while
Before a race
After a long practice
Or maybe in the middle when all you want to do is laugh

It's these irrelevant moments when your true self shows

You signed onto osu today
I have been secretly wishing for this moment ever since you were applying to colleges
I am now reassured that our relationship won't end when states roll around this season
You promised to come to my meets at osu and I promised to visit whenever I see my sister

Your name means blessed and it fits your personality perfectly
You never take anything for granted

But don't ever be afraid because no matter what happens we will always be cheering you on from behind

I will always be here to cheer you up when you're down

When you leave and have to place to go I will welcome you into my home

I want hold onto your sunshines and save some for later and give them back to you when the rain falls hard
Because I've seen the best of you and the worst of you and I choose both

When we grow old and you are gone and the only memories I can remember are your smiles
I will always keep them in my heart forever

Because it's not until you're gone that I realize how much you mean to me

Sweet Akunna of the forbidden caste,
with ******* ***** and succulent to taste.
She has marble eyes that blossom by day,
and ivory teeth worth a millennium's pay.
Her rear curves dangle to her feets' rhythm,
for the gaze of rivals deep in schism.
Her moist lips have their natural redness,
as bright in colour as a crimson dress.
Her body's landscape is soft with fragrance
of love and sweetness in sheer abundance.
She has long, smooth and fine pillars for legs,
for which every man dreams daily and begs.
In rejection she rules the rain forest
as the queen of misfits, but still the best.
An outcast with beauty that subjugates
all free born women yearning at the gates
of the gods for such unique endowments
which are natural without ornaments.

"You can't always win, L."
he says.
He always says that,
the boy from Ohio with the lopsided grin,
"Sometimes, you just lose..
and that's okay."
Emphasis on the "okay".
Because he knows
that's the one word
I won't hear him say.
He knows this,
because he always says it.
When I tell him,
I don't feel right, where I am.
And it's worked before.
So it should work now,
he thinks to himself.
And perhaps if I were sitting next to him,
like I used to,
in that one room apartment,
in Victorian Village,
I would hear it.
I would hear it,
and it would resonate.
Before he punched me in the arm
and asked if I was done being dramatic,
so we could turn on the game,
because he just got a text that OSU is down by 7,
and he's pretty sure it's because he's not watching..
So I would laugh,
shove him off the couch I got at Goodwill,
and he would grab two more PBRs from my fridge
that only sometimes worked,
and it would be okay.
It would.
Because to the sound of him yelling at Braxton Miller
through the tv
like he could actually hear him,
and the hot summer breeze pouring through the open windows,
it made sense.
What he said,
made sense.
But we're not in that apartment,
and he can't hear how hard my is heart beating
from 700 miles away,
can't see the look on my face
when I tell him I think I'm losing my ******* mind.
Suddenly his voice sounds so far
and so foreign.
And he knows,
he knows it's not working this time
but that's the farthest he ever got
so that's as far as he goes.
And the long pause is deafening.
So in one final act of desperation
he simply says,
"Love you, kid."
And I just say,
"I know."

You my friend love to run more than anyone I know
You run so fast your body has to catch up and when it can't it slows you down pulling a hamstring
Then the other
And then your left one again

You had bruises for months trailing up and down your legs-your battle wounds

Weeks upon weeks of stretching
Icing massaging caring bracing eating
Trying so hard to sooth the pain
So bad it hurt to sit
Slowly but surely your legs came back
A tedious process of long nights and good mornings

One day you were new again
In the sweltering heat you taught  your legs what it felt like to run
And they loved it
The months flew by chasing you down
You were unstoppable getting first and second a states in the winter

Things were looking up and you started to get anxious about college who would choose you?
But in the end, you chose them
You are an official member of OSU
Proud to be a buckeye

Outdoor season started and you are oh so careful
Spending an hour every day before practice to warm up slowly to not repeat last year's trial
Hours spent after practice to ice and stretch hoping that this horrendous day would ever come again

Today I watched you
I was sprinting on the field while you were meticulously counting and calculating your speed and steps by doing drills
Our brothers strides by-racing each other in the 600
You strode along their side-beating them all when you started to limp

Your eyes turned glossy
Your face crumpled in despair
I to you asking if you were ok

You looked at me like a deer in headlights
To scared to tell me-hoping that the devil couldn't possibly come back to haunt you
Your eyes told me everything
Two pops and a pull

Bad
Very bad
But it's your right leg- your good leg
Impossible

The emotions hit you like you were on a bumpy roller coaster
Frustration
Angst
Anger
Sadness
Frustration
Anger
What did you do wrong?
What variables didn't add up?
Why you?
Why?

I wanted so badly to comfort you
To hug you
But it would put you in so much pain
Who knew that a hug could do so much harm?
I helped you to the trainer
Every step was another test and another reminder

Why can something you love so much it hurts you?
Why should someone so good feel the pain of a pulled muscle?
Why?

I sit at the booth,
Thinking to myself,
**** restaurants that don’t have a television
Making me listen to insipid conversations
The kind that only in-laws seem to be able to speak

The fumbling and stumbling over topics and
Phrases repeated without any real meaning
Thought or understanding

I stare off into space and nurse my whiskey
But even it won’t fully drown out
Their side effects

“I’ll have the cheesecake,”
I hear one of them say

“Burger extra rare,”
The other hurriedly offers up to our waiter,

Our waiter
Fresh out of high school
Oozing pimples down the pores of his ***-marked face
Uniform stretched taut against his bulging stomach
Exposing crater like outline of his belly button

I wish that I could be the waiter
I envy the waiter
He gets to walk away from this table
And away from a flowing sea
Of faltering words

Someone’s talking to me
Asking if I’m keeping up on the OSU football drama

But I don’t hear them,
I’m too busy studying the Egyptian architecture
And wondering what it has to do
With the Cheesecake Factory

My wife kicks me
Bringing me back into this dreary reality
Telling me to answer the question

“No, I haven’t,” I say
As they began awkwardly telling me about it

I signal our waiter and ask for another whiskey

It’s going to be a long dinner tonight

You brought joy to my soul
and lightened my darkened heart.
I just want to love you forever and re-write our history books and its negative narrations.

You are a power packed woman,
curvateously endowed in the right
proportions; in the right places with the
moves of a jungle cat.

In the eyes of our Creator, we are all
"Nwadiala". Anyone who calls another "Osu" is but a terrorist. Don't we all have red blood flowing through our veins?

My love for you transcends tribal or
religious lines. If I found love beyond the boaders of my village, why not? With our union, we break the chains of "Osu" and live as freeborns.

You are not just my heaven on earth, you are my still waters. You are the stream that flows in my heart, the sound that oozes from my flute.

When your father walks you through the aisle, I will be at the other end with a smile, to walk to from thence into bliss. For us, it shall be for better for best, till death do us part.

A Poem: "Amotekun Dee"

"Kere oh, Omode gbo. T'agba gbo"
"Oba ni kin wi fun yin oh!"
"Amotekun deeeeeeeee"
"Eyin omo Odua, ee gbo mi bi?"
"Irorun de, omi tun tun wo lu"
"Eyin temi aji lala osho. Eyin Omo okun Esin"
"Won ma sare kabakaba"
"Mo wi re, tabitha mi o wi re?"
"Amotekun deeeeeee"

We will block the gap and protect all and sundry
We'll patrol with Eagle eyes
It shall be "No nonsense here" in our region
With robust intelligence gathering and network
And we will proceed with extreme caution
Within the ambits of the law shall we operate
There shall be no sleep for the wicked

Peace, it has long eluded our lands
We have been invaded by uncircumcised Philistines
But not anymore, "O to geeee"
Who else knows our terrain better than our locals
You got a pass mark my Governors
And I am proud to be "Ofe mmanu""
"Ejo, ema je wo ni owo osu oh!"
Lest they begin to see friends as foes

"Amotekun de...Oju eje...."
"Iyalaya gbogbo won"
"Koni kaluku di omo Iya re mu.."
"A ko fosi rara nile Odua"
"Awi fun won ti ti, won jo gbo"
Odua a gbewa ooo.
"Oya, awon daaa? Gbefunwon kososhi"
Why carry guns when we can enchant them?
We have been pushed to the wall
Our hands on the plough, no going back

"This one no be se re se re"
"Omoluabi is a talk and do"
We stoop and let them trample on us"
Little do they know we are fooling the fools
Those who thinks they are fooling us
Watch it, we can be cunning and deceitful
But when it comes to our collective goal
The bond that binds us strong
And our walls, a mighty  fortress

In a nutshell, "Ki eku ile gbo o"
"Ko si so fun to ojo oh"
We are regional and not tribal
We will listen before we judge
We will treat all fairly as our ancestors did
We will not allow the "Cobra Effect" permeate Amotekun

This, we all know, is peace at last!
Passing Amotekun bill is a legislative masterstroke
For all who saw this to fruition
May "Eledumare" grant you all your "positive" heart desires
"Mo wi re, tabi mi o wi re bi"
Amotekun deeee"