Paradox Of Diversity

We live in a nation of diversity
We survive through the paradox of diverse cities
In divide all we have is insurgency
In unity is how we overcome adversity
How difficult is it to achieve peace and tranquillity

They say we can only be independent as a unit
But our identity is what unifies us in spirit
Yet we allow divide to conquer us in public
We throw our humanity and suppress our ethics
All in the name of some ethnicity that we inherit

Before any identification came Adam and Eve
Before you typecast me I plead you see through my humanity
There is beauty beyond the eye in diversity
I am sure you all can tell from your experiences of daily activities
Or the joy derived from dressing in our natives for the Independence festivity

They say stability of unity comes from the spirit of equality and Oneness
I say the beauty of our unity comes from the strength in our diverseness
Only together can we achieve feets that are countless
What connects us are more than that which separates us, so do the maths
And you will find there is Unity in Diversity

Hate it or Love it we are all pieces to this puzzle called Nigeria
I do not have to know you for us to have the same criteria
We might be two sides of a coin but when you flip, I flip the same
So when I point at you in blame, I am only putting my name to shame
There is Unity in Diversity and this fact remains the same

They say what divides can also multiply
So when we unite, the result is something we cannot quantify
Sixty Two years later, it is time to ask ourselves why
Why am I frightened by the notion of adversity
Why am I blind to the fact that there is Unity in Diversity

We live in a nation of diversity
We survive through the paradox of diverse cities
In divide all we have is insurgency
In unity is how we overcome adversity
How difficult is it to achieve peace and tranquillity

COPYRIGHT © A-One Poetry, 2022.

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.

Lovice

To all the ladies and gents
That are scared of commitments
That are always on self defense
Due to a little bit of scar from previous events

Do not shy away from heartbreak
By putting on the breaks on anything good that comes your way
Previous relationships’ is something like a snake
It is never the bite that puts you away but the venom coressing through your veins

You might have heard bad stories along the way
That have kept you in hiding from a mile away
It is like drinking acid while expecting not to decay
Do not fall victim to someone else yesterday’s fear and miss out on the opportunities of today

Cc everyone you see on the streets
To finally see the one that will set your heart free
What type of ink stains do you want on your sheets
Or have you never thought about the type of life you want to live?

Love is but beautiful
A synonym and acronym that can never be awful
More sweet than the Belgium waffle
And so elegant, there is nothing more lawful

There is nothing to fear but the paranoia of joy
A subtle reminder that loneliness is something to avoid
And Life is nothing but a void
With so much emptiness awaiting to be filled with your love

To all the ladies and gents
That are scared of commitments
That are always on self defense
Due to a little bit of scar from previous events

Do not shy away from heartbreak
By putting on the breaks on anything good that comes your way
Previous relationships’ is something like a snake
It is never the bite that puts you away but the venom coressing through your veins

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.

Love Scuffle

My Love

I know we have not been as intended

Our relationship stepped down from its harmony

I can see you are questioning our certainty

We used to have the best love stories

Our history should not be made history

Our relationship needs to revive its glory

Your name shall remain immortal in my diary

 

The mornings I wake up next to you

And we cuddle On each other like tattoo

Eventually I run into you

We mourn and yawn for more…

 

Every morning you sun my sunflower

Every evening you are seated on my sky scrapper

Every second of the day you are my hearts appetizer

We go back and forth but we never get tired

 

Such a journey is far from an end

Our relationship could only ascent

We have grown beyond the typecast of Boy & Girlfriend

Not even Romeo & Juliet, Jack & Rose could out Romance us

 

Baby girl I miss you

I know it is only been a couple minutes since our fight

Life is just not the same without you

For others it takes hours or days, Baby it’s seconds when it comes to you

 

Since you walked through the door

It completely shook my core

That was the first time I heard you roar

My heart naturally turned sour

 

My love I need you back with me

…While writing, I heard my phone ring

“Hello babe”, she said

“Would you like me to get you anything ? I stopped to get some groceries”

 

My heart skipped a bit hearing her voice

Immediately I begin to rejoice

“Nothing love but my usual favorite choice”

“Hurry up baby, and bring yourself back to me”

 

Our journey continues

In just a couple minutes, whatever is no longer an issue

Our love built a trust that became lust

Which makes it easier to forgive the others mishap

 

Finally, my baby is home

Kindred hearts we are never alone

“I am sorry about earlier, It shall not happen again”

“Come baby, Let me put some ice cream in your cone”

COPYRIGHT © AHMAD ABDUL-ONE, 2019.

Poeticverse

There is always an irony to life 

The caterpillar needs to die to become a butterfly

It transforms from a snailly form of eww!

To a wingy form of Awww!

 

The Irony that remains 

Is for the soul that never changed 

For your limited life where do you stand ?

Karma has an irony that visits when you become sand 

 

Search for your metaphor in poetic justice

Like a game of dice, it comes like your chances of double six

A satire in every win

Emotions but memory contains the heavy deeds

 

In this universe 

Poetry I see in every little thought

One come and go but life never stops

Karma is a bitch and it’s never her fault

 

Today patience lacks attitude

Mockery has become a self fulfilling fortitude 

An irony in every longitude and latitude 

Am I running from every long attitude that outlast my attitude ?

 

Karma does not allow one to cheat life

Such an irony even death cannot cheat life 

A short parody of life can be rolled in one dice

Unlike life, like the dice chances might come twice

 

I seek the poetry in this universe 

I see the Irony that is this universe 

Karma remains a bitch in every poetic parody

Thus, for the paradise in life, I claim my universe ‘The Poeticverse’

 

COPYRIGHT © AHMAD ABDUL-ONE, 2019.

 

The golden Charmer

Knighted child in golden armor

Mattered not should ye be son to a farmer

A lawyer, doctor or even a Governor

The circle of life never existed in only one harbour

Yet this reality can be manipulated by a charmer

 

Knighted child in golden armor

Life seemed flexible from every angle in the mirror

Once away from the shadows of leisure

One would find the storm had never been heavier

Ye had only been sheltered under the family umbrella

 

A tradition of cosset

Shielded from all obstacles from birth

Ye’s Kindred meant no harm but good

Little did they forget the jungle is made of different woods

Some might be hard, and some soft

Ones Texture dictates the rationale behind his growth

 

A tradition of cosset

A facade to the feeble minded

A misplacement of value

Such tender a generation where trust weighs more than truth

A rooted foundation that warps our youth

 

Stories are told

Yet the truth remains to unfold

If the ultimate power is control

Then, a knighted child was only a means to a certain goal

How destructive a force yet attractive like gold

 

A knighted child in golden armor

Fell victim to the tradition of cosset

In plain sight is the absence of physical harm

While being ignorant to the notion of mental and emotional wants

To survive, the golden child needs to develop his personal charm

 

COPYRIGHT © AHMAD ABDUL-ONE, 2019.

One More Miles

When the road seems dark

and the storm begins to hound at you

thunder after thunder that forced your eyes to rain a drop or two

when all hope is by the edge 

the least of your pain is your head

when your life seems pointless 

it becomes very easy for you to lose your focus

 

Everything becomes personal

A little banter and you feel insulted 

the available ears doesn’t seem to listen 

so you become reckless and your attitude careless

You ponder about death but it is not an option

 

You start to think to yourself why life isn’t fair 

you somehow have the strength but the energy has disappeared 

the storm gets heavier and no one seems to care

you start to hope for light from any angle 

“You will get a different mind frame when you have been through the jungle”

 

Your stress turns into depression

A little misunderstanding turns into aggression 

you begin to lose all hopes on salvation

now your daily routine is just going through the motion

where every second of the day you are in your emotions

 

You should not count what you have lost

For counting will not alter your past

The future is unknown 

A reality that awaits to be foretold

Shall Ye keep Ye head high, Ye has one more mile to go

 

With patience comes perseverance 

but to begin with, your situation needs your wholehearted acceptance 

if whatever pain is temporary 

it is only right you strive relentless for your happiness

because this is your journey, and you have one more mile to go

 

COPYRIGHT © AHMAD ABDUL-ONE, 2019.

Forbidden Fruit

We sort each other from far

I knew I found love when I saw you from across the bar

You ignited my heart beat

I could not control myself, next thing I found me on my feet

walking towards you gradually as I think

nothing meaningful, your beauty was all is could see

“excuse me young lady, you mind I make an order for two?”

“Never mind.  Hey waiter, hit us up with what she is having X 2”

I looked into her eyes and all I saw was cute

a dazzling phenomena of beauty “I hope I am not trespassing”

“Forgive my boldness, If I may

I sighted you from far and I could not look away 

I was hoping for a little chat and exchange of names”

“What might I call you before I fumble my game”

with a little smile, she looked at me and said

“I admire your boldness, You sure do have taste”

“I have been through this circle, and I am not about willing to make that mistake”

I felt the thunder rush through my veins

“I could preach to you how different I am, but I guess that could only add mayhem”

“Girl, you are such an astonishing beauty to the eye

This is something I cannot deny.”

“I am sure if God was human, He would have kept you for himself”

“You are such a dazzling figure to ignore”

“Give me a month or two, so we get to know each other”

“I am A’one by name.”

“You mind sliding me your phone so I could key down my number”

She smiled and said “my name is Eve, I will give you a text

Also I will hold you to your words, so please do not disappoint”

Her smile gave me goosebumps

Her beauty extends beyond poems.

she looked me in the eye like she wanted me to do something

then she stood up and said “You made me smile despite my bad mood”

“I hope to see you again sometime soon”

I quickly interjected “How about tomorrow late afternoon ?”

She exclaimed “Sounds like a plan”

she took few steps toward the exit and turned, “It was really nice to meet You A’One.”

 

COPYRIGHT © AHMAD ABDUL-ONE, 2019.

Reverie

I came alive at a dinner table

I had Food for Thought

I was feed till my brain coughed

Intellects to my right and left

Heaven on earth knowledge at spread

A buzz session that buzzed my mind

I found my brain in a virtual gym

Shedding off ignorant muscles

And replacing them with a patriotic hope

In a jungle filled with predators

And aliens that try to exploit us

A round table was enough

Enough to rid our minds of arrogance

Enough to facilitate our road map

Enough to spark a revolution for a lifetime

We might find ourselves at odds ideologically

However, it is said “he that knows, is he who knows he doesn’t know”

If he knows not, why keep knowing ?

We might find ourselves at odds physically

However, it is said “I can, I will”

If you can, why only stop at willing ?