DEAR DADDY by ‘Bukola Ibirogba

DEAR DADDY by ‘Bukola Ibirogba

DEAR DADDY

by ‘Bukola Ibirogba

—01
Dear Daddy,
Mommy does not smile anymore,
Her eyes no longer light up with joy.
I remember nights when she cried herself sore,
And I have realized that,
We would go on,
After you,
Without you,
We would go on.
Though something beautiful dwells inside us,
all has turned to stone.

 

 

—02
Dear Daddy,
It has been eighteen years and counting.
I can barely remember your face,
Ivie is an adult now and doubting
if she ever heard your voice or felt your gaze,
It is hard but, we shall go on
after you,
Without you, through the years
of pain and raw bewilderment,
brutal and angry tears.

 

—03
Dear Daddy,
We struggled to eat from day to day,
Pangs of hunger, the scourge of kwashiorkor.
We had no place to lay
our heads,
and we thought you would walk through that door.
We survived and
we shall go on
after you.
Without you, we will heal,
Though love may labor in the heart,
The loss conceals the joy.

 

—04

 

Dear Daddy,
I am grown now, and I cannot forget
How other children laughed at me,
Prize-giving days when you were absent,
Birthdays you did miss, tears you did not see,
So much pain, but
we shall go on
after you,
Without you, life goes on,
But neither hope nor happiness
may undo what you have done.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
‘Bukola Ibirogba is a recent graduate of Law from the University of Ibadan. She draws inspiration for her poetry from her love for God and everyday issues.

 

OF A BROKEN HOME, IT IS

OF A BROKEN HOME, IT IS

OF A BROKEN HOME, IT IS!

Of a broken home, it is

that happiness has absconded

that love, once were

that love, never is again

that what fascinates the heart become strange.

Faces become strangers and the heart becomes helpless.

 

Of a broken home, it is

that a child wakes up with pain in the heart

that there is a chattered dream

that there is divided love shown to him

Waking up to the call of life

He is reminded of the lost bond.

 

Broken Home!

Broken Home!

 

It is a burden in the heart,

As a child he wonders,

It was sweet from the start,

there was magic in every moment

and the stories of the heart melted.

Was it of lost or not properly made decision?

 

There had been a song

A song that a besotted lover has come to the door

The creation of union and later despair

Happily, the wheel of a new family is taken,

Couples filled with heartfelt joy, promises and oaths

 

There were promises that there will be devotion

A longing desire to be together

But time past, days have been and there’s lost in passion

What a turn the story has taken

What a change in dare need

What a hole in the heart the once delighted union has brought

 

Of a broken home, it is

that as a child he is left to face the world alone

that as a child, he feels not, the love of having parents

that choices are hard but made alone

that as a child he asks if there is need for marriage in the first place.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aremu Abiodun A. is a graduate of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, where he studied Accounting. He is in constant search of knowledge and loves the pen.

MY DIVORCE

MY DIVORCE

MY DIVORCE

I thought about all the musicians, carefully putting into account each of their stage performances I’ve either seen personally or watched on the TV. I thought about 2face in particular, that guy is just epic when it comes to live performances. Have you seen how he staggers like he’s high on expensive drugs? …or how he pulls the crowd along till the very end? You know that uniqueness in his voice, listening to him and at the same time, seeing him in person or that feeling you get when he jumps down the stage to poke the person right in front of you. Actually enough of 2face’s dreams, he wasn’t the only one I thought about calling for my divorce.

I thought about the Mavin crew. I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Don Jazzy’s voice has some traces of codeine in it. Well, I sincerely don’t know the effect of that codeine, but his voice from the background or it’s combination with the Almighty Dbanj’s. Okay, I rest my case.

I thought about every other musician…the effect of the twins on stage. The effect of the wiz bro (yes, I called him a “bro” because… Well, he should actually be a bro). The effect of VEC, phyno, Chidinma, Omawunmi… But I just couldn’t get enough from my thoughts.

Then came the menu of the day. I thought about pounded yam, if you have ever eaten “pounded” yam, then you’ll understand me better. I thought about Amala (even though I’ve never tasted it); the thought of its flexibility overwhelmed me. I thought about jollof rice (those ones are just spectacular when made for parties). I thought about it’s fried equivalent, it’s coconut and it’s Chinese. I think I’ll just skip the white. I thought about the eforiro soup (it’s just most of them don’t taste as nice as they look these days), the edikang-ikong, the ogbono, the ofe nsala. I thought about everything; then about the cakes. I thought about chocolate cakes (of how very quickly they melt into the mouth and then you crave for more) I decided my cakes would be ordered from “cakesbykisses”, who wouldn’t want a cake image brought to life. I thought about every edible; small chops, fruits, coleslaw, drinks…etc. I thought about my divorce.

The scream for a divorce

The scream for a divorce

I didn’t remember my union; I couldn’t even explain it if I was asked to. I didn’t remember how I got involved in the first place, before the thought of a grand divorce came flying across. I didn’t remember the journey, and I sincerely didn’t want to. All I thought about was my grand divorce; the one that will once again free me from the unbearable union.

Yes, I envisaged a grand divorce; where even though the musicians refuse to turn up, my music library would give me the much needed joy. Talking about my music library, I thought about all the songs I had therein and figured it wouldn’t do the magic I really needed. I started to think again, to think about the divorce.

My divorce… So many to wine and dine on. There will be no invitation cards (I hate segregation); everyone will be invited. I have to give gossips the privilege to carry first hand news. The ones that have never wished you well. The ones that always prayed you never went into a divorce (trust me, they don’t wish you well). The ones that always hoped you never realised you were even in a union. I thought about giving them lots to talk about. I thought about the side attractions… I thought about lots of souvenirs…I thought about the happy faces… the sad ones. I thought about all that I hoped for… All that I prayed to get. I thought about a grand divorce, the kind that will keep lips sealed for long.

This was about my divorce with the most humiliating factor in my life. The one that made me feel useless for long. The one that never made me stop feeling inferior. The one that instilled fear in me… The fear of being me… The fear of moving on… The fear of holding on to the good things of life. I thought about my divorce with unhappiness; it cannot win all the time. I cannot be destined to be sad. The unhappy feeling I get just when I’m about to make it in life which shatters every main dream. I thought about my divorce with unhappiness yet again, and then I smiled because for the first time in a long while, I will be free again. Free from all forms of sadness in my life; from all forms of fear. From the shackles of failure, the standstill of destiny, the abandonment of acquaintances. Unhappiness will not win this time because I intend to move on, to be happy again… happy to enjoy life the way I used to; happy to move on without the fear of hate. I intend to be happy… Just this time, it will last forever.

Have you had a divorce with unhappiness yet? Now is the time, you should wait no longer. I wish you everlasting joy in your life, now and always!

…And for my thoughts. Well, they ended up becoming just thoughts. Though now, I am as happy as I can be.

**First published in Inspirationals segment on bilkissesblog.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Osomo Bilikis Omosalewa, also known as Bilkisses is a talented Nigerian writer, blogger and caterer. She is a well-focused, emotionally-
stable, and a hard working young lady whose penchant for excellence and youthful drive makes an asset wherever she finds herself. She started blogging in 2012 under the domain name “Bilkisses blog” and has not stopped thrilling her fans with her mostly fictional stories.

As a storage biology graduate of the prestigious Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria; Bilkisses currently owns “cakesbykisses”, a bakery which constitutes a team of experienced caterers who bake cakes to life.

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