Did you look around you?
A mother wails in agony,
Her son, oh her son, missing
He was here now, she wailed..
Just maybe, she will find him again,
Most unlikely.
Did you look into that compound?
One man, twelve children,
Brother and wife auto crashed,
Six children bereaved,
Other brother added to his six,
Now other brother is wife-less
And crippled by the weight of life.
The children fade away as hunger eat them up.
Did you know Okechukwu is back?
Tucked his certificate in his box he did.
Every mother warns their daughter
Beware of Okechukwu,
Just a contact and you are pregnant,
Okechukwu is jobless,
Okechukwu blames his randiness on the government.
Another woman wails...
Oh these seem endless...
What happened?
Her child is dead!
What killed her?
She was fed sperm.
Was it Okechukwu?
We do not know!
Somewhere far away,
The weather is gloomy,
The sky mourns as it pours out torrents of tears,
A once beautiful girl is laid to rest,
In the arms of mother earth,
Even wealth was too little to save her,
Adieu!
On same day,
A fresh union is birthed,
The wail of a new born is heard,
One life lost,
One life gained,
New journey started.
Inside life, we found joy,
Inside life, pain is the strength of many,
Inside life, grief is the food of some,
Inside life, life is celebrated.
What do we say, we are here,
So let's live it.
-Victoria Ukpaka
