Thursday, September 30, 2010

Faces of Leaders - Somto Okeke

A man wearing a pair of shades told me I should follow him,

Like a dream, I stood beside him,


But alas,


I was not the only one.


When I get there you would know ‘He Said’


We walked and the sun stalked,


We thirsted and our throats twisted,


We limped and our feet tripped,


The tree branches had no mercy,


And our feet kicking the mud, leaving no tracing,


We hungered and wondered,


Will this ever come to an end?


And on the brink of surrender,


Some screamed form behind,


‘Where are you taking me to?’


‘Where are you taking us to?’


And he turned and said,


‘I do not know’ and he removed his glasses,


And behold he was blind!
   

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

LOVE by Somto Okeke

Can I have something I cannot define?
So dynamic, it cannot be confined.
So short in letters yet can choke,
So tiny that gives men stroke,
So complicated yet makes me fly,
So high, further than the sky.
Very light to say out,
Very easy to scream out,
People drink it and are drowned,
Some swim in it and get drunk.

I stroll down the lane,
Perceiving the air so full of scent,
From flowers that suffer no pain.
I see the birds on high,
And I give out a silent sigh,
As they flap their wings,
And dance around in rings.

The cold breeze makes me chill,
The gravel makes me trip,
The sand, there to catch,
Ready to stretch to my length,
The grasses so tender,
Waiting to render,
Their leaves despite my gender.

Before I hit,
I see the hands ready to grab,
On my feet, I see the face of the one I love,
I look upwards,
And I see a finger,
Holding the one, I love to me,
I look upwards and I see the face of the one who loves you.

    

Saturday, September 11, 2010

The Facebook Addict by Laju Arenyeka

My fingers shake,
My legs are pressed together from an enduring bladder,
My shoulders ignore the numb pain
My heart beats faster every second
My vision is blurred by red, blue and white
My eyes read my lips
“Just one more message,
Just one more photo,
Just one more friend request”
Yet amidst a singing stomach
My eyes know that lips lie
Burning the mid night oil I would have slept
On my knees, a trip to wonderland
Yet to like and unlike,
My clear eyes dare comment
On and on, hide and seek
Till NEPA rears its ugly black head
And on hands and legs I grope to bed
Dreaming of all my friends
Who have taken my neighbour’s stead

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Feeed me!

I'm human like you
You're human like me
We're all humans
But our nature far apart

On the streets we strive
we only hope to survive
my self-esteem is lost
now just a walking corpse

You look at me as hopeless
I perceive you as heartless
I never pray to be like you
You never wish you were me

you've got great dreams
I once had those I think
you've got all you need
I cry daily even to feed

I'm that child you ignored
as you walked past this morn
I buried my brother yesterday
while I cried in pain of loss and of food

all I need from you is a token
just to feed
just to stay alive
just to see tomorrow

don't shout at me
don't shut your windows at me
don't you turn deaf ears
as my look says, "Feeed me"
She has dreams like you...

Every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of hunger, 75% of them are children

Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion - a majority of humanity - live on less than $1 per day, while the world's 358 billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45 percent of the world's people. UNICEF

Only a well-fed child will think of having dreams, or aspirations, or listening to your seminar on Change. 
Don't neglect that child on the street. N50 spent on that snack could make a difference...Give and you will never lack. Never. It's a fact!