Out Cry

Take down the wall | Make it up to me
Do not let your pride stand between what we have built
Do not shy away from confessing your shortcomings
It’s simple, when you are wrong issue an apology
We build not destroy the branches of our family tree

Why end a caterpillar’s life because you fear butterfly
To what crime does the innocent deserve to die
No more political foolery, Unravel the myth to be free
Make way for me but first, make it up to me
Humble yourself and take a knee, Colin Kaepernick

Sixty-Two years and counting but I have nothing to show for it
Aside from banditry being my most lucrative industry
Corruption being my consistent and badge of identity
Lawlessness even laissez faire seem strict to me
Just discipline yourself and make it up to me

I can still forgive your shortcomings
Life is a book and we are all verses to it’s poetry
Every pencil has an eraser if you are willing to look for it
With a simple amendment we can make his story history
Don’t put your pride in the way just make it up to me

I do not care about my blood nor sweat I just want to be free
I was born in this land, why does it give me misery?
To think you could do me no more injury
Are you telling me the Vampires have taken over this country?
What happened to your magic, just make it up to me

What is there to fear just make it up to me
You have my mind chained and you hold the leash
I watched them kidnap and kill my brothers and you forced me to sheeh!
I kept my mouth closed while you eat off the leaves from our family tree
All I ask is for you to make it up to me, Capeesh!

Take down the wall | Make it up to me
Do not let your pride stand between national peace
Do not shy away from confessing your shortcomings
It’s simple, when you are wrong issue an apology
We build not destroy the branches of our family tree

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2023.

Be Strong

Please for once do not tell me ‘be strong
Just allow me to cry, Let me pour out my heart
There is just too much pain for me to hide
Do not look me in the eye and tell me you know what it is like
Just allow me to not be okay this time

I know we have to be strong to survive
But most of us just want to casually live our life
Travel the world and see the beauties beneath the sky
Go a little crazy, climb mountains, even sky dive
Fall in love, have a family, what better way to be alive

So, Please don’t tell me ‘be strong
Just let me cry and pour my heart out
There is just too much pain for me to hide
Don’t look at me and tell me you know my pain
It is okay to not be okay, so today I celebrate being humane

I know we have to be strong to survive
But for how long do we need to remain strong
They say too much of anything will bring harm
I guess I have been strong for so long that being strong don’t work
So just allow me to not be okay since we know pain always work

I have been bitten by snakes in the jungle
You asked me to walk it off
I walked my legs into the mouths of wolves
I escaped but got stung by a scorpion
Seeking for shelter I found myself in a den of hungry lions

Yet life moves on
I had to summon everything including my broken bones
The pain felt my pain and it apologised and moved on
Just when I thought I had hope, I was reborn
I found myself having a romantic hug with a python

Life just doesn’t wait for anybody to recover
They say life acknowledges your pain by making you suffer
So why be strong when your faith is in the hands of a butcher
What strength could one have to go against the alpha and omega
They say karma is a bitch and she is a painful lover

So, Please do not tell me ‘be strong
Just let me cry and pour my heart out
There is just too much pain for me to hide
Do not look at me and tell me you know what it is like
It is okay not to be okay, so today I celebrate being humane

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2022.

The Oppressed

My heart is filled with sorrow
I fear the pain today only gets worse tomorrow
A coalition of heartless pharaohs
That continues to narrow our road to freedom

We never called ourselves perfect
We are sinners like you seeking for our rights
Some of us have faced dark days their entire life
It is neither a dog fight but for some that is what it takes to survive

How heartless can one be in the pursuit for injustice
We claim to be our mothers child but with a heart of a devil
We have all been watered with the sins governing our jungle
Fertilised with its selfish pride while being ignorant to the life’s on cradle

To what level of dissatisfaction do we need to reach to achieve a sense
To what extent would ours need to be abducted for us to be intense
To what value will life need to be degenerated for us to switch from defence to offence
To what heartlessness do we attribute our current level of complacence

We understand to you we are like a nagging insect
With no idea of purpose we claim to be an intellect
We need this… we need that… ignoring reality and fact
Because we lack self respect, teach us not label us an insect

Life is but a game of irony
The most dirty of insects are alive to keep our planet clean
The sun has to fall in order for it to set
Even the tallest tree, one could find started from underground

It is heartless of a man who forgets from whence he came
Not just the physical but the spiritual elements of genesis
We as a people were never meant to be the cause of our pain
But we employed evil and now we watch them claim our rain

What goes around comes around, we oppress the littlest of living things
And now we complain of being oppressed by the powers-that-be
Our lives are always a reflection of that which we give
Simply as we expect we give and that shall be our way to live

We never called ourselves perfect
We are sinners like you seeking for our rights
Some of us have faced dark days their entire life
It is neither a dog fight but for some that is what it takes to survive

Our hearts shall be filled with joy
The pains of today shall be forgotten tomorrow
A coalition of compassionate pharaohs
That will widen our road to freedom

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2022.

Smile or Cry Freedom

Pledge the badge of loyalty
Sing the songs of hypocrisy
Hiding under the name of democracy
While matching in the name of bureaucracy

When was the last time you saw you smile
When was the last time you saw your family smile
When was the last time you saw your neighbors smile
When was the last time you saw your country smile

Summer rains in people’s faces
The innocent in search of grace
But the good hearts have been misplaced
Collectively we are in a state of disgrace

I saw the fear in an innocent man
Who fell victim to their game of mind
He knew nothing but what has been given
He expected a seat on the table, they told him be glad we allowed you to keep on living

When was the last time you saw your own tears
Despite knowing everyone around you survives under fear
Might you be so heartless that you don’t even care
I suggest you look in the mirror before looking into others affair

Even a lonely wolf ends up in a pack
The pain you bottle in would always end up in a ‘pop’
When you tear up it’s a cry, collectively it’s a rain
When it rains it pours, I guess only then can we be pure

The hidden tears in our eyes
Do result to violence in disguise
How costly is the price of peace..(Sigh)
When was the last time you took away someone’s cry

Smile is one amongst the greatest of gifts
With the most minimal of efforts one could uplift
Emotions might be the strongest of feelings
But a smile remains the strongest of all emotions

When was the last time you made yourself smile
When was the last time you made your family smile
When was the last time you made your neighbors smile
When was the last time you made your country smile

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2021.

Political Scar

Politics of scars
We all bear the injuries to their lies
Falsehood of nobility, they won the nobel prize
Trips to London, they are always first in line

It’s been a sad journey from the dawn
My soul is depleting under the sun
The rays that should console are burning my lawn
Left to right it is fire burning from the ground

Politics of scars
We all bear the injuries to their lies
Falsehood of nobility, they won the nobel prize
Trips to London, they are always first in line

They say the lion’s heart will protect us when the storm comes
I guess we are doomed if the lions heart pilots the storm
It’s always raining under the sun but the tears does not fall from the sky
Soaked in the blood of the innocent, they enjoy their lives

We live through political scars
Chairs of responsibility are thrown outside the door
Our family tree is surviving on broken branches
While the roots are burning into ashes

We are growing apart, 60 years and counting
It puts me to tears watching my country die
Nigerians need a break, from all this political victimising
The political scars we bear continues to be horrifying

Too much silence is killing us from the inside
False news keep misinforming our conscience
To what crime have we committed to deserve such sentence
An overcrowded prison of mind for our nation’s citizens

Sight of belief, we live to only say goodbye
Rest in peace after peace–after peace, I wonder where is the peace
Prayer after prayers after prayers that the bloodshed should cease
Hopefully?! we blindly call on hope to get us off our knees

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2021.

The Isle of Growth

We look far but the next step is right in front
They say keep your head high, I say keep your head straight
Focus and vision are of two different constraint
The road you walk should not be a road to talk but rather a road to the top

The foundation to your success has been done
Five weeks of training with a little bit of fun
The experience has been worth it since day one
The sacrifices you made to continue along
Is all part of the journey to keep you strong

Success is a name but growth is the aim
Do not point your trigger at something you cannot claim
For when the fire burns you might not survive the flame
Needless to say stay firm and acclaim your name, build yourself so strong that even your shadow has a good name

A Positive attitude will never let you down
Obstacles are bound to come along your journey
They say “believe to achieve” and then you conceive
There is nothing wrong with taking a step back in order to make a leap

Today is tomorrow and yesterday you were prepared
If I can I will, then I should be willing today
For a delay today can reverse my preparations of yesterday
Thus, who I am now shall always remain the best of me each and every day

We look far but the next step is right in front
They say keep your head high, I say keep your head straight
Focus and vision are of two different constraint
The road you walk should not be a road to talk but rather a road to the top

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2021.

Hopeless Eyes

When hope is gone
The truth is lost
Innocence becomes victim to greed
At the end all we walk
Is the part to death

We call on hope
While using the wrong scope
We harm ourselves with our own antidote
We tell them not to hang us but we give them the ropes
What an irony of life, freedom bottled in a globe

I saw the pain in a child’s eye
A pain that could crumble all that is beneath the sky
A pain that would make a grown man cry
How could an infant be subjected to such a life
Where even death carries more peace than being alive

I see dark smokes in the near future
I fear we’ve lost the dreams of Martin Luther
I see red rivers flowing in the streets
The lack of peace could only break us to pieces
The pieces we have is being swept off its feet

If you think you are safe
Please do not be deceived
What you see might not be what it seem
I see cries in the hearts of the Youth
I fear for all, when they realise the truth

It is never too late to change
Be adviced not to provoke an outrage
What I saw in the eye of the child stroke my soul
I employ you to think of tomorrow
The joy you would derive from alleviating someone elses sorrow

A day lost cannot be found
A smile gone should not return with frawn
A life is to be lived not to be killed
A journey started today is planned yesterday
For a destination reached tomorrow shall not come forth with sorrow

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2021.

Remember When

Remember when I said I love you

When I looked into your eyes after we cuddled 

The morning I made breakfast before you left for office

You even uttered I make the best waffle

How could you forget, you had on a red shoe

I said to you, “that’s too much red boo…

Your flaming hotness matches with your shoe”

You replied “here you go with your silly jokes”

I know you remember, I came by to pick you from work

You made us stop by the store to get some groceries 

I even mentioned a joke that made you blush 

“Despite this vegetables being today fresh, 

my girl looks fresher and she’s just off from work”

How could you forget, It was a friday so we had a movie night 

I replaced your popcorns with the fake rubber ones 

One thing led to another and it became a pillow fight 

The next morning you woke up with a love bite 

You woke up and caught me writing a poem for you 

The poem states 

“When it comes to you

I would move mountains to see you smile 

I would swim across the nile to hold your hands

I would wrestle an Anaconda to entertain you 

I would I would, yes I would 

I would love you until you tell me to stop 

Then I would love you more even after my heart stops”

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2021.

Break Me Down

They say tough love is the best love 

Where the only closure you get is that of a firm glove

If this is the love they claim to be the best

Why does it break me down, why does it scrape my heart

If this is love then why does it tear me apart

Life was never meant to be apples and roses 

Even the best of love tends to come with a motive

Just read between the lines, some cries are easier to notice

It is no surprise some tears drop like lotus

Especially when the love seems to be hocus pocus

A lot of bogus words are said in the name of love

Their palm might be clean but a lot of heart breaks on their glove

Yet they have the nerve to look one in the eye and call it true love

If this is love then why does it break me down

Why does it tear me apart, why does it turn my life around

It used to be the usual before you showed face 

Nothing fancy, but at least I sanely had my grace 

I tried my best to keep positive vibes around my space

Life was good and I was enjoying the race

I even had a smile on my face

Now I am insane and in need of grace

I dreamt of love and I found hate 

I had hopes we would ride through the golden gates

Not knowing I was just another food on your destructive plate

How could one hate to love and love to hate

Love comes in many form

For some it’s cold while others warm 

Some weather the storm while others enjoy the fun

They say’ true love could never harm

If the love is true, then why does it tear me apart

How difficult is it for one to be true to themself

It is true one need to have in order to give 

The moment you find love is when you begin to live

As much as it is a choice, why would you break a heart

You claim this is love, then why does it break me down

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2021.

The TAOetry

To be is to be born
To live is to be alive
All things are born of being
Being is born of none being

The TAO is in me and you
The TAO moves within everything around you
The TAO is peace
The TAO provides love that does not cease

They say the road to enlightenment is always dark
The road that leads forward seems to go back
The road that leads direct has a longer path
The road of the TAO is that from your heart

The feeble minded will laugh when they hear the TAO
Should they not result to laughter it is not the TAO
The Average minded will be at a half believe of the TAO
The Superior minded will immediately begin to embody the TAO

The TAO is of everything but it comes from nothing
The TAO is a knowledge of self and being
He who understand it has wisdom
It does not come with force but it gives strength

He who is content is truly rich
He who gives himself for others shall live long
He who gives himself for the TAO lives for eternity
He who gives himself for no one lives a zero life

Elegance comes from diligence
True power they say seems weak
Steadfastness they say seems changeable
True purity they say seems tarnished

The greatest art seems unsuffiscated
The greatest love seems indifferent
The greatest wisdom seems childish
The greatest poem reads like this

To be is to be born
To live is to be alive
All things are born of being
Being is born of none being

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2021.