Mom and Dad

Mom and dad:
A million times we needed you,
A million times we cried,
If love alone would have saved you both,
You would have never died.
...If all the world was ours to give,
We would give it years and more,
To see you coming up the steps,
And walking through the door.
To hear your voice and see your smile,
To sit and talk a while,
To be with you that same old way,
Would be our fondest day.
Two hearts of gold stopped beating,
Four smiling eyes closed to rest,
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
He only takes the best.

By Tayo Adekoya

Today I woke up

Today I woke up


and everything was okay



All of yesterday's problems are gone



they left with the setting sun



Today I woke up



everything was fine



my slate is as white as snow



with every morning's sunrise



Today I woke up



the sun's rays quenched my thirst



today was much better than yesterday


much better than the first



Today I woke up



all issues were ceased



crime, oppression, and poverty



war, famine, and disease



Today I woke up



All troubles have passed away



the sun showed over the horizon



and it was a brighter day



Today I woke up



Filled with hope and optimism



I made my first step to change the world


Yours truly,

LazioM.A.N


lazioman.blogspot.com

I want to go

I want to go
where the days are always clear
the horizon is bright, nothing to fear
where all day the sun will shine
there are no winters, not a cloud in the sky
The sun- a majestic yellow hub
drapped in a ground canopy of blue
where the waves break softly

I want to go,
where pounded yam is free
and Egusi is a call away
where suya is spicy
and moi moi is yummy

I want to go
where moonlight fills the night sky
As a silver sphere in a blanket of stars
giving me just enough light
to see your face and the absence of flaws
In this place there are no worries
all cares for a moment-brushed aside
and my mother's sweet voice is the only thing
that breaks the sound of the tide

I just want to go home,
Where love is genuine

Yours Truly,
Lalazo

Who are you?

You are beautiful



--but critical



Your face, amazing



--but questioning



Your love, so engaging



--but your way is restrained



Who are you?



I can only hope to know....

When I wake up tomorrow

When I wake up tomorrow



everything will be okay



All of yesterday's problem are gone



they left with the setting sun



When I wake up tomorrow



everything will be fine



my slate is as white as snow



with every morning's sunrise



When I wake up tomorrow



the sun's rays will quench my thirst



because I know that day will be



much better than the first



When I wake up tomorrow



all issues will be ceased



crime, oppression, and poverty



war, famine, and disease



When I wake up tomorrow



All troubles have passed away



the sun will show over the horizon



and it will be a brighter day



When I wake up tomorrow



Filled with hope and optimism



We will change the world

I cried

You told me not to cry


and I said that I wouldn't


You said I needed to be strong


and I promised I would be


but the tears I can't hold back


I can not hold these tears within


You told me not to cry, but I did


The tears held behind my eyes


were drowning my insides


My heart could not float


underneath dashed hopes


My being lay breathless


as if underneath a capsized boat


My insides-consumed by emotion


they seem around and above me


like looking up at the ocean


Engulfed in misery


my future was my history


I tried to move on


but I was missing a piece of me


You were my eyes


for it was you I yearned to see


Why should I have sight


if I can not lay my eyes on you


I cried to wash the images off my mind


of your eyes closed- you lying there with no life


I would rather be plunged into the darkness of night


and at the time of your passing


be eternally blind




I cried to release the pain


of my failed attempt at conversation


as you did not reply


when I stroked your face, and called your name


I cried to fight the sorrow


that tried to overcome me


I cried to stop my soul


to stop my soul from crumbling


I cried to let go of you


because it was killing me to hold on


it will be a hear lesson to learn


but I must learn to go on


I now cherish your memory


your spirit replaces my grief


your spirit fills my emptiness


your legacy lives within me

The thanksgiving of Life

Today, as I sat on my bed, I imagined what my life would be like if I had more money, more cars, more women, more love, more food, more of everything I've ever desired. But then I realized, that there are people poorer than I am, with fewer accessories that I have, with less joy than I hold,and in worse situations than I have been, yet still grateful and hopeful.

On a chilly day in November, driving home from work, ideas ran through my mind on how I could get richer, smarter, better snd continually wanting more, more and more, until suddenly a car swerved into my lane without realizing I was on her blindspot. As miniseconds ran by, I felt the world pause around me, and reflections of the past ran through my mind. With an unexplainable instinct, I managed to escape an accident. Instatly, my perceived reality of the world changed.

Still in shock, I had a flashback to a sunny sunday in Nigeria when I was thirteen. As I was driving back from church with my mother, an idiom written on a truck struck my eyes. It said, "I complained I had no shoes, until I saw someone without legs." I immediately showed my mother, and she replied, "Toye, you've got to be grateful for what you've got, because you never know what anyone else is going through."

So I asked myself, why did it take me so long to interprete my mother's sayings?Why did it have to occur when I almost had an accident? Why? Why didn't it happen when I lost my father or when I lost my best friend? I guess it happened for a purpose.

Upon returning home, images of the incident flashed through my mind, so I imagined how my life would have changed if I had gotten into an accident. First, I would have to come up with the money to repair my car, considering insurance does not pay for it, I would miss a big exam I had to take that week, I would lose money for not going to work, and mostly I might have lost my life. But then again, I realized that my life was still worth living, nothing had been lost, and I could have moved on with life like nothing ever happened.

However, I saw this as a sign from God to be thankful, not for the big promotions, lottery win, new car, new family, new job, but for the little things. The mere fact that our cells continually work relentlessly to make us alive is worth being thankful for. My abilityto choose what clothes to wear, and to find a soft spot on my pillow to lay my head counts for more than a blessing.

So, everyday, I wonder, how something so little could do something so big. Life is worth being appreciated. One might say that life is not fair. Truth be told, life sucks. However, when you give life another chance and open your heart towards your dream again, posterity would prove that dreams eventually become reality.