EXPRESSIVE MINDS

I may be just that child Who lives in the town Where school dropouts reign But I am not a truant I may be just that child Who lives in that suburb Where majority live by begging But I am not a beggar I may just be that boy Who lives in the street Where all heinous crimes are rife But I am not a criminal I may just be that boy Who lives in the ghetto Where every hard drug is sold But I am not a drug user I may just be that boy Who lives in the slum Where  ex-convicts abound But I am not a jailbird I may be just that girl Who lives near that brothel Where every sex worker began But I am not a prostitute I may be just that girl Who enters that clinic Where every pregnancy is aborted But I am not an abortee Sometimes circumstances thrust people into situations and cast a shadow that is not true of their real selves. Until you zoom in and zoom out the images you have, hold your judgement!

Consider all the day break calls The daily chats and texts The endless sweet talks and banters The numerous good night messages Need I say more Consider all the frequent visits The surprise presents and treats The affectionate hugs and pecks The painful fond farewells Need I say more Consider the nostalgia when we're apart The anxiousness of longing and reminiscing The overwhelming delight of reuniting and The special bonding and affirmations  thereafter Need I say more Consider the awkward silent moments The sudden sweaty palms and apprehension The thumping of our hearts and The constant trading of smiles Need I say more

For another full year lived For the hope of new years ahead For the warmth and joy this day holds And the imprint of memories to be cherished Happy birthday dearest! Yesterday you were a year younger Today you are a year older Celebrate this perfect gift from your Maker With friends and loved ones -thankfully and peacefully Happy birthday dearest! This days opens a new chapter With new opportunities and hurdles But go past all unfulfilled desires and fears And embrace the prospects with optimism Happy birthday dearest! Take a moment and make a wish Wish for yourself all you want to become Trusting that the Heavens will smile at you So this day sets you on the path to victory Happy birthday dearest!

I called you a friend, but what did you call me? With sincerity at heart, I remained a friend. Never a thought formed about you was spiteful. And not a word spoken behind you was evil. But you my dear friend, you were never a friend. Day in and day out, you mastered your charade. Overwhelmed by your acts, I fell for your bait. Concealed with false smiles and overrated tenderness. And without caution, I opened my closet to you. But like Judas, to the enemy’s camp you sold me. Your hugs and kisses were only at a cost to me. Your sympathy and encouragement, my discounts. So little by little, you set my blindfolds and the dagger. And craftily lured me to the slaughter house to be slaughtered. But they set me free, and now I know I am a foe to thee.

Being a mother is a blessing And being a mother is a responsibility Being a mother is a challenge And being a mother is a choice So thank you mother for choosing me For the decision to keep me For the rent free stay in your womb And all it accompanied inconveniences Most especially, the distortion to your physique Thank you mother for accepting me For loving me though you knew me not For obeying my dictates and protecting me Ensuring at all times that I was safe Risking your own life to give me life Thank you mother for bringing me into this world For nurturing me from infancy through to adulthood For being there  when all others give up on me Encouraging me and turning me into who  I am today Equipping me with the essences of life Thank you mother for being my mother If I ever caused you pain or ever caused you regrets If you ever doubted your competence as a mother Forgive me mother.

Why do you doubt my love? Truly, I love you and you should know that To my heart, you are the treasure it longs to keep Without you, the void cannot be filled To my heart, your love is all it knows and seeks Without you, my heart cannot be fulfilled How do I describe my love? I love you with the love that cannot be described But so you know, I love you with the deepest emotions And with strong affections and yearnings, I love thee Just how much do I love you? I love you with the love that cannot be measured But so you know, I love you to the deepest depth, To the widest width and the highest height To my heart your love is delightful except it hurts For it knows not the coldness and hotness it brings to my heart Your love consumes me but my heart has made a vow to thee To love you only and to die of your dear love.

For this reason He was born To reconcile men to His Father Abandoned His glory above Down to earth He came To bear the cross of men To define His Father’s love A love so strong to sacrifice Him He opened wide His gates To receive all who came to Him Embraced even prostitutes and tax collectors Sat at table to eat with them To prove He came for their sake Giving them a sense of His Father’s love He brought comfort to the wearied He healed the sick and the lame He brought the dead back to life He set the oppressed free To the hopeless He gave hope Yet they did not accept Him To them He was only the carpenter’s son His teachings pricked their consciences But they hardened their hearts His miracles baffled them But they could not be bordered Instead some linked Him to Beelzebub And others still requested from Him a sign One by one they went to Him To test and to trap Him with their questions One by one he sent them away Setting them straight with His a...

My soul is thirsting Thirsting only for that water That sweet water from the sanctuary Give me that water that I may drink of it For I have drunk of many waters Yet my thirst remains unquenched I need that fresh water to quench my thirst That living water from the right side of the temple For I have heard it being said of it Anywhere that water flows life is revived That living water stirs up stagnant waters That sweet water makes dead fishes swim That welling water heals the sick Give me that spring water that never dries I need that fountain of eternal life That I may thirst no more

Year in, year out,  there is Lent For forty days you prepare Forty days of fasting Forty days of praying Forty days of almsgiving Then what? Forty days of fasting So you fast from food And your stomach is empty But your heart is full of abominations Forty days of praying So you pray, but the Gentiles' prayers And your words unacceptable to the Lord But your demeanor,  a Pharisee at heart Forty days of almsgiving So you give but out of compulsion And not compassion for the poor and needy But that your giving may be seen by all Should that be the case? Make your Lent count!

                        When you try to stand, but cannot feel your feet And you make the move, but your legs fail you When you try to speak, but cannot find your voice And you cry out loudest, but cannot be heard Turn to hope! Hope does not fail - hope conquers When you perceive light at the end of the tunnel But darkness is all you see around you And your inner will threatens to surrender But the reward of perseverance blooms Turn to hope! Hope does not give up - hope assures When impossibility offers you a wide embrace And promises a better future than resolution But introduces you to dejection and self-pity And the opportunity for negotiation seems unreachable Turn to hope! Hope is not dead - hope is alive

When suddenly my heart misses a beat Surely I know you are close by I feel so restless until I take a seat And only hope to see you pass by This is not what I want, all I want is you Once I see you my heart is revived It brings so much joy I can’t even describe Only to leave me wondering how others have survived For surely, there is no remedy in what they prescribe This is not what I want, all I want is you Constantly fond memories of us invade my thought The most wonderful, being the trip to Dakar I didn’t think we would come to a naught After all the efforts to have come this far Surely,  this is not what I want.  All I want is you

Sing to me a song A song to touch my soul A soul that is vexed and wearied Yes, wearied of its own sins Sing to me a song A song of healing to revive my soul A soul about to perish from disobedience Yes, disobedience leading to destruction Sing to me a song A song of forgiveness to calm my soul A soul in need of repentance and pardon Yes, pardon to escape the wrath of the Lord

Ask me, what I wish to be, To answer – I would say to you, I wish to be the pride and pleasure of my father, The delight and desire of my mother. Trust me, I wish to be the joy and hope of my family. So say to my father, not to give up on me. Declare to my mother, not to have any bitter regrets. Truly, day after day to their woes, I increase. And the incessant moments of heartbreaks, I acknowledge. For far too countless times are the broken promises and unheeded cautions. Though still fresh are the heartaches and disappointments; Yet, with shame, I dare to implore their mercy. Tell them both to end their grieving. For I’m on the road to Damascus. Like Paul, my conversion is imminent.