What if?
What if;
all your life has been a lie,
your tears, your smiles,
all of them a tool to break ties,
and your deeds like cloudy hues in the skies;
will you loiter with a regretful look?
or be glad that at least you were a lying book?
What if;
all those who claimed to love you,
never did but only secretly reviled you,
with false gesture to humour you;
will you gnash at love?
or celebrate the slight glimpse of love?
What if;
all the strangers you meet each day,
are your real family that will stay,
with you in the flame or dreary bay;
will you curse and abhor them?
or begin to gently treat them?
What if;
what you call success,
is seen as a disappearing mirage
by everyone around you;
will you be proud of your rare feat?
or wallow in self pity by staring at your feet?
What if;
the rain continually fall,
nonstop like a wrecking ball,
until the streets become a waterfall;
will you daily your bed install?
or get out in the rain and stand tall?
What if;
you don't have to study
or be assigned any task or duty,
just you and your folks having pleasure in the city;
will you still seek for a change in the world?
or be glad of your status in your new world?
What if;
there is no reward for hard work,
your daily hustles and struggles a mere art,
to decorate and paint the gallery of earth;
will you still appear unfulfilled?
or be contented with your unpaid skills?
What if;
your lovely and faithful wife,
is carrying in her womb a new life;
belonging to a gangster of untamed strife;
will you speedily opt for divorce?
or help her raise the new force?
What if;
you wake up one morning,
and everything you ever called adorning,
is now the source of your mourning;
will you still hope for the bright side?
or resort to suicide?
✍? Atuanya John
