Tag: art
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Run with the Sun
athletethe uncovered miles, they lie withinwaitinglike the oak tree in an acorn the road callslet your uniqueness answer the dreams beating in your bloodthey refuse to diethey are rebellingcoagulating into fatrendering you sluggish the road callsriserun with the sunburn everything withinthat’s overshadowing your glowfor you’re a source of light
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The road to Damascus -page 8
It’s Friday night. Tired of being indoors with annoying roommates so I step outside to catch some fresh air, and suddenly remember the little park on the campus of a university behind my hostel. Lovers and benches. Singles like me are certainly not welcome into such spaces, yet I impose myself. In a far corner…
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Temptations awakening
I decide to not knock on his door before going to church. I shouldn’t be the one to always remind him to go to church. He’s an adult. And he knows the route to church. I hear him on the phone in his room. Perhaps talking to another of his many girls. I wonder what…
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The road to Damascus -page 7
Finally, I get to campus. And just as I predicted, our presentation was a disaster. I think of great football teams. They don’t win every match they play. But the good and bad days add to the collection of memories that unite them, and serve as reservoirs of hope and lessons for the future. After…
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a stream of pure talent
people reproduce themselvesin their worksand sometimes,possessions mirror something in their owners haven’t you noticedhow so much musicis filled with messages to haters?what was supposed to be a streamof pure talentfor us to draw layers of meaningshas become colored with the hate, bitterness, violence that’s been stewing during the rise tell me creative works are outletsfor…
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Jérusalem
Can’t remember who died. But what I do remember clearly was that it was a big funeral that brought many of our relatives in neighboring Togo to our village. The ceremony extended from dusk to dawn. Even the generator that powered the mics and lamps all night became hoarse. The funeral grounds was the only…
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The road to Damascus -page 6
So many things on my mind this morning. We have a presentation, and my group is poorly prepared. I am thinking of all the things that could go wrong, and psyching myself for them. My group members had other assignments and couldn’t give their all to this one. Lectures starts at 9am. It’s 8:30 and…
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The road to Damascus -page 4/100
In politics, especially in my part of the world, popularity matters. Doesn’t matter if you’ve murdered the only Son of our Holy Mother. Once you’re popular and affiliated to one of the key political parties, you stand a chance. And as I head home after class, I contemplate on how politics works in this country…
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The confinement
I did not know the couple were childless. I had assumed they were recently married. And so when I got the mild rebuke to stop being friendly towards the children on the compound, it made no sense to me. “This is my spiritual father. He came all the way from Mali to attend my wedding.”…
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The road to Damascus -page 3/100
I still remember the first day of class. Used money I was supposed to save, to buy myself fine clothes and shoes, and a new phone. I hadn’t updated my closet in years. That was what I told myself. And it was true. But the real motive sitting at the bottom of my heart was…
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Sunday night drama
I turned to find mother crying. I did not understand why. But I always kept the incident in my heart, together with the storyline of the movie we were watching that day. When I was a child, every Sunday night there was this programme on television by name “Akan Drama”. It happened that on one…
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night falls with its eyesores
as night falls with its eyesoreshawling memories of the day beyond the horizonhordes of people return homesome to mess, and debtsmurmuring in low tonesothers return with relief,glad to have found the holy paycheckto purchase their daily breadand peacesinging Hallelujahloud enough to be heardeven in Californiabut however your day may beI hope the lessons can be…
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Her name is Samira
My weakness was that I couldn’t be discreet. Which was why when I fell in love with the cook, the affair was like an open secret. Was it love? I couldn’t tell what label to put on a mixture of lust, loneliness and desperation. She didn’t resist my advances, neither did she give me the…
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fishing in new waters
Flies. They wouldn’t let the sores of a dog be. And the poor dog is forced to stay in motion to ward them off, all along jerking, flicking, tossing its head -all the frantic head shakes its creative mind could conjure. And yet, the savage flies pursue with renewed sadistic zeal. The dog stops and…
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We always smell it from afar
Back then, we knew nothing about sexual harassment. All we knew was that teacher Musah loved Mansa and we all envied her whenever she walked about the school head high like a princess. Many ugly girls in the school winced at the thought of not having half her beauty. That Mansa was a minor, we…
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Red wine
For me, red wine is symbolic of pleasant memories. It was a windy Sunday afternoon in late December. I did not go to church that day. My habit whenever I didn’t have money for offertory. Or felt guilty of a secret sin. Feeling bored, I lay in my room on my little mattress spread on…
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Noise
She keeps talking and distracting my thoughts, and doesn’t seem to notice the cues I keep dropping to indicate it’s not a good time for chitchat. My approach has always been indirect when it comes to telling people things they won’t be comfortable hearing. But in my mind, the message sits there, in its crude…
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While it rained
It was raining heavily. I sat on the floor, my back against the bed, staring through the open window at the palm fronds swaying in the strong winds. The room still had a bit of the afternoon warmth, which was yet to give way to the cold outside. I thought of my flatmate who was…
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They all know
From the moment the cup is handed to one of them, they all know that the recipient is going to be the hitsong maker of that year. They never had disagreements among themselves like other categories of artists were fond of doing on social media, and were always cited as role models, until a video…
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Butukwen and his mother
Her son had a challenge. Physically, he was alright. Mentally, he was unstable, couldn’t sit at one place and behaved more like a toddler for his age. Personally, I felt his mother should have looked for a personal teacher for him, a teacher who taught him at home. Or maybe, the school should have separate…
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The new preacher
I stared at the WhatsApp post for a while. Of course I recognized the face. An old classmate. Lost touch with him since we completed school many years ago. Here he was, on the WhatsApp status of a close friend, posing as a preacher. I found it hard to accept the change. That boy has…
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The restaurant at the foot of a hill
The restaurant stood at the foot of a hill. I had passed there several times without noticing it, partly because I was new to the area. Initially, I was skeptical about the quality of their meals. But they gave me good reasons to become a regular customer. Lunch time, you were sure to find me…
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The letter to Daouda
she thought she carried good newsshe’s been sent to deliver a lettershe, an illiteratethere in his office she stoodwaiting for him to read and replythe wilting joy on the face of the readertells her something isn’t rightslowly, the initial smile on his face fermentsinto a sad, bitter face, polluting her initial joy tooshe waits as…
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The anus of a fowl
He was planted among us on purpose, but we did not know. He came across as honest, complaining just like the rest of us of the hardships we all faced. We assumed he was one of us. It started with my resignation. He was the first to call. I still remember where I was when…
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songs of a folktale
all eyes on the new moonas we sang, clapped and dancedsongs of a folktale about the moon and the sunmotherswho decided to slaughter their children for a meal during a famineThe sun was the first, sacrificing her children but the wise moon loved her children and wouldn’t when it was her turnThe furious sun now…
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Wandering in the woods
A quiet afternoon. Two lovers drift into woods nearby. Intermittent giggling echoes through trees as they run on, as if to escape the prying eyes of the sun searching through trees swaying in the late Friday afternoon winds. It looked dangerous from outside. Now that they were inside the jungle, they saw things differently. The…
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sticks in my ears
a wet rug was placed over the hot lantern chimneywhen the rug had soaked up enough heat and could no longer breatheit was placed over the fresh wound on my legI squirmed, screamed and tossed in painThick arms gripped me, so that the wet, hot rug could engage in a long lick of my woundmother’s…
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End of play
We had been rehearsing for weeks, although I had no clue what it all meant and for what occasion. But from the repeated motions day in day out, I figured out some pieces of the puzzle : it was a play about a baby who was to be visited by shepherds. Who this baby was…
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Sick with the quagmire
you’ll sing better songsthis thirst for changewill make you drink ideas till you’re drunknobody reaches the heights you’re aiming for sobermany your kind have been hereit’s the same ancient pathdifferent faces, same heart ……………………………………………………. Email:Benjaminnambu1@gmail.com WhatsApp: +233 541 824 839
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wake every beast
honed every skilltried every trickcombed every streetwoke every beastcrossed every seatossed every diceate every lielicked every woundpaid every duesplayed every tunedealt every cardtook every chanceknocked every doorfought every dogticked every box yet for all my effortsa harvest of winds but I keep pressing onunrelentingly https://wp.me/paf3ao-m3z
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Gone with the wind
There are days nothing spectacular happen in our lives. Just routines. And yet one day we look back, and miss those ordinary times. Like I am looking back right now and seeing myself beside a tomato farm right behind our school wall. Almost everyday, while teaching in a classroom on the last floor, I stole…
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Bleak house
Already, they were suspicious. So, my going there was a gamble. Part of my reason for going there was to gain their trust. That was why when they offered me a meal, I did not hesitate to thank them and head towards the dinning table. They had eaten already, so I was the only one…
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Deliverance
Woke up terribly sick. So weak I am unable to move or even scream. It was all so sudden. Went to bed feeling strong and well. How did all this begin? I tried to sit up, with great difficulty. Perhaps it was malaria. All over the room, I vomit, having no strength to go to…
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The Communion
Majitey suggested it first. No one thought of it as a possibility although a few members of the board heard of it as a joke by one Nigerian comedian. Make the Lord’s Supper a full meal. Sounded funny and absurd. They all thought Majitey was joking when he mentioned it. But he wasn’t smiling while…
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Gloomy night
I heard her. Splashing water into toilet seats. Kicking and knocking washroom doors to be sure no one was in there. Rolling mop buckets. I could smell the scent of detergents, and her grumbling. “So a human being really did this!” she blurted. I’ve always complained about the poor maintenance of the washrooms. Here was…
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The world doesn’t pity the poor
The sun was scotchy, and as its heat intensified, so did my fatigue and hunger. I doubled my steps, my mind working out shops to pass by and what to purchase so I wouldn’t get home and regret purchases that should have been made. Occasionally I would turn to be sure some reckless driver wasn’t…
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The Games
It was a family fun day. But the arrangements under the canopies were not according to families. This was the Body of Christ so every person under each canopy was seen as family. I knew no one. Threading cautiously, I entered the venue, a park. Things were done differently in this new church. There was…
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The Outcast (Page 47)
It was one late night. We were sitting in the dormitory, chatting. This was after preps, a time all students revised their lessons or did assignments. I was no longer a student. But I stayed in the school’s hostel to help a staff with evening lessons for adults. It was the time Blackberry phones had…
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The wedding at Baaltazar
“I paid 10,000 cedis to rent this place for the wedding reception.” the groom told me. “Wow! That’s a lot of money.” I remarked. In my mind, I was calculating how many months it would take me to raise that amount of money. At least 12, if I were determined to keep my salary whole…
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Trouble, brewing
He did not say it, but it was written all over him. If the visitor pushed, Marlon would break from the mother church. The Archbishop was ill and this was not a good time to stir up trouble. There were already rumors that after the Archbishop dies, the church would split. There was a lot…
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The Outcast (Page 46)
Double standards. Same people who educated us about examination malpractices were asking us to make contributions to bribe invigilators because same invigilators who reminded us before the exams rules we were not to break, realized some broken rules could be mended with money. It was a chain and only the dumb ones were fed the…
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It’s a long story
I can’t remember what sent me there that morning. I had assumed she was awake by then. Many of her next-door neighbors were still asleep when I got there. There was one worker who was leaving early to work. He told me he heard her voice so I should knock a little louder. Perhaps she…
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Resilience is the color of Nature
Resilience is the color of NatureFeel her stubbornness in tough weedThat keep rising when crushedSee them rise among rocksAmong thornsEven on paths frequented by a million feetFeel her patience vibrating in the wavesCalculated moves and motivesLurking in the breezeSearching for soft spots of ships to strikeFeel her fearlessness, fury and focusMirrored in the faces of…
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The Outcast (Page 45)
Finally I traveled back to the city to prepare for my final exams of high school. It was the first time I was living on my own. I was to stay in a new hostel. The joy of living as I please without any parental control was overwhelmingly intoxicating. Joy beyond description, beyond measure. Little…
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Live
LiveDon’t be a cowardRecoiling every timeYou’re struckYou’re hitYou’re sunkPushEmergeHit back, hit hardRefuse to remain underDon’t let them knock offThat smile, that shineDon’t let them dampenYour indomitable spiritYour optimism Stand tallFor agesBe consistently youNo matter what they do to youBe kind, full of smilesAlways extending a hand to the needyA hand to thoseWho have no one…
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The Outcast (Page 44)
Our parents’ job requires being constantly on the move. And now that I had reached my final year in high school, they were transfered again, leaving the city for a town I had no idea where it was on the map. Never heard of the town before. There were many popular towns in our country…
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Mark and Tiffany
Mark thought deeply about what he was about to do. Risky, no doubt. But it’s in trying you increase your chances of success. But this trial was no ordinary trial. Failing will be unbearable. He thought deeply, slowly. He and Tiffany had been friends long enough. At first, whenever he asked a girl out, the…
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What is maturity?
What is maturitywithout the ability to keep secrets? Why tell a secret if it increases the probability That trust will be brokenThat old wounds will be opened What is lifewithout timeTo tailor one’s lifestyle to one’s tastes? Why the hasteWhy the raceAs if this life is a competitionAs if being busy is what brings recognition…
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Total recall
Certainly within me Certainly within reachLike flamboyant petalsLike flamboyant medalsThese beautiful dreams Though risky like a ponzi schemeThey echo in my thoughts like a theme songForcing me to put my retired energies on total recall https://wp.me/p4GQQl-C6w
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The Missing Keys
One Christmas evening, we were returning home after a visit to one of our aunt when I felt my pocket and realized the bunch of keys to our house was missing. “Oh! “ I exclaimed. ” I forgot the keys at Aunt Regina’s place. My big brother was the kind that hardly smiled. And it…
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Fatigue
Traffic jam. I check my time. Probably won’t be home as early as planned. The driver is contemplating changing his route. “Anyone alighting at Third Gate?“ he asks without turning to the conductor. ” One passenger, ” the conductor tells him. The driver seems annoyed by that piece of information. I shake my head staring…
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Beauty
There! On a window pane in the corridorA brand new laptop and an Iphone! Who could have left them here?In a place where almost everydayThere were complaints of theftsAs my footsteps grow louder on the tiled floorIn the direction of the shiny itemsGlistening in a ray of sunshineI hear the flush of a toiletAnd feet…
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Ladies on a balcony
They were a bunch of female students, on the balcony of the last floor of our hostel, hooting and jeering at passersby. I hadn’t seen them until I was stabbed with a remark about my clothes. They said my combination was off. It was embarrassing. I took a look at what I wore. They were…
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Go places
It’s a beautiful worldSo beautiful sometimes it makes you forgetYour worries, sorrows and little lifeWhen you think of the vastness of this universeDoesn’t it inspire you to dream big?Don’t you see finger and footprints of a Mighty Being?Aren’t you ashamed of the many ways we destroy its beauty and peace?Do you see traces of the…
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The Outcast (Page 41)
Before I was admitted into senior high school, I was confident that I was going to excel academically as I did in junior high school. Little did I know that the fatigue from the long distance to school coupled with teachers who never showed up in class to teach would weaken that resolve. Every resolution…
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Family
Their mother did not know her birthday. She was born in an era and place where no priority was placed on keeping records. And so when she had to get a national ID, their father guessed a date. On WhatsApp statuses, her children see other children post their moms on their birthdays and feel unable…
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A script of shallow truths
When everything is working for you,you think you know the rulesWhen everything stops working for youYou shrink into a script of shallow truthsYou stink with echoes of ruinsHow a tiny pore can spark a ship’s demiseHow a mighty fall can reveal subtle pride https://wp.me/p4GQQl-C5w
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Default colour
To the uneducated, the scholar is a nuisance Like love birds to one who cannot find loveLike a single unemployed mother and her daughter Seated in a corner of the houseWatching children rushing to welcomeTheir fathers returning from workEnvy is the default colourWhen one is sketched beside things one cannot haveBut scholars have their problems…
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Hide your face
Even the sun hides its faceBehind cloudsSkirting stealthily across the skyEven stumbling and falling over the horizonIts absence giving it the impression of renewed strengthWhen it rises againIts absence part of the reasons Nature misses itWhen it returns Even Earth refuses to let the Sun see all of its nakednessIt keeps turning, revealing a piece…
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A lesson well learnt
The first time Mina moved into her hostel, she noticed the cold attitude of her roommates. It was as if she needed to pay them to respond to her greetings based on the number of words in their responses. One was actually sitting on her bed and the reluctance with which she stood up was…
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The comeback
Was she sorry for what she did? A question that constantly roamed Joe’s mind and wouldn’t settle. Where could she be now? He hoped time will teach her a lesson. Time was a fertile ground on which character took root and bore fruits – some a hundred fold, some fifty. He prayed her harvest will…
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Kaiza
A limited market. That’s what this country is. The more people are pumped into the system, the the more the market becomes choked; everyone will eventually go broke. But these idiots don’t realize that. They claimed they’re giving the next generation a chance. Kaiza has always been in his corner, minding his business. He’s the…
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One windy night
It was a cloudy and windy night. The winds were swinging our wooden chapel windows like recalcitrant children determined to drive their parents mad with their foolishness. Even the presiding Bishop was in a hurry for the church service to close, he that never hesitated to tell people to not be in a hurry to…
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The new place
For a moment I thought she wasn’t going to pick up. Perhaps she’s not around the phone. As I psyched myself to give up on dialing her number, I was picturing where her phone could be. Maybe in the kitchen or bedroom, and she’s probably on the compound, busy with some activity. Oh! And then…
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No filters
Each time I’m woundedThere has always been a tendencyTo shut myself inBut a covered plantCannot blossomEven if it doesWhat healthy growth could that be?That’s why I keep shining, I keep smilingEven when it’s difficult dilating my lipsThat’s why I keep doing goodEven when I’m paid ingratitude in returnSee the many things I would have missedHad…
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After many years
“Wow. People change,” Samson thought, suddenly feeling proud of himself. Samson remembered the first day he saw Angela and the short see-through dress she wore that day. He still remembers her inviting glossy lips that he fought hard to not stare at. And that seductive perfume of hers he kept wondering what brand it could…
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Ask me where I want to go
Ask me where I want to goI’ll finish telling you before you’re done askingAsk what I’m doing to get thereAnd I’ll sigh, my head bowedAnd my unspoken response?DistractionsSome I createBut the majority come by themselvesFrom God knows whereSome are good after a hard day’s workBut on days my engine is coldAnd refusing to startWhile miles…
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Gossip from the village
Cousin Ama was on a visit. She’s from our village many miles away. It’s been three years since we left. And a lot has happened within those three years that memories of our past lives in the village were slowly eroding. Cousin’s visit revived many of those fading memories. As I overheard the conversation between…
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The Outcast (Page 40)
The most difficult part of life after writing an important exam is waiting for the results. Now that I had checked my results and they were exceptionally good, I could take in a deep breath, smile and eavesdrop on conversations on other people’s performances. Some students’ results were good, others were bad and a good…
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Rich, rare
Patience is what makes a seed growPatience is withinThe French say,God’s middle nameIs TimeAnd one day time will sow youIn some abandoned placeWhere you will be trampled underfootForgottenBut that is how you multiplyYou’ll not stay downBelow the soil is not your placeYou shall germinateYou shall riseAbove every obstacleYour genes are not the type that succumbTo…
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This too shall pass
Was like some sort of rebirth. Finding oneself in a new land, a strange land. Many of the strongly guarded values back home do not hold here. It’s like some new set of rules for living, tailored to the needs of the people, existed here. A stranger, Louis strolls through the streets of his new…
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wet wood
Wood refuses to catch fireIt’s wetBeen raining these past few daysDrying up will take some timeBut the sun will surely comeWill surely shineWood and fire will embrace once moreIn crackling laughter Without warningThe promising tree is chopped downTo begin from scratch, begin from the bottomBut like it’s done beforeWith little drops of waterWind and sunshineGreen…
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Bigger picture
I realized life is lived in fragmentsYou start something you like doingYou have no idea where it will leadBut you stick to it, day in day outGiving up along the linesWill deprive you the privilege Of seeing the bigger beautiful pictureOf how the little details came together Likewise you make new friendsFriends you may not…
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In search of bread
Early morning. I have somewhere urgent to go in about an hour and half. Back from my morning jogging routine. Very hungry. Forgot to take my wallet. Had to to go to the room to fetch it. The atmosphere in the room is different. It’s quiet and a little stuffy. Outside, there’s so much fresh…
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Memories of home
It became the norm, sad as the situation was. It amazed her that one part of the world could live in such quiet, peace and harmony whereas another part of the world was in chaos, where hope was torn into pieces by bullets sweeping past the ears of fleeing children and mothers and fathers and…
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The New Chairman
It was offertory time. And before a song was raised for us to dance and give out our monies, the pastor read out some information. It was a breakdown of our offerings for each month from the various local assemblies. Apparently, he was pleased with the figures, adding that he didn’t want members to become…
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The Outcast (Page 39)
Back home, I was impatient to show the results to my parents. They had gone out and weren’t back. It was 7pm, then 8…9pm, still they weren’t in. Where could they be? Everyday they were always at home by this time. Today that I had something important to share, they were no where to be…
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The Controversy
It was everyone’s dream and wish that Akweley marries. For she was so kind, humble and generous. She was an interpreter at her local church, helping her town people understand what the English priest said. Even the priest prayed that she find a good husband. On one occasion while she was interpreting his sermon, he…
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The Outcast ( Page 1)
“J’ai envie de t’adorer ! ” A piercing voice echoed through the chilly harmattan. “Ready, sing!” The prefect on duty conducted. Soon, a million croaking voices chanted madly. “Stop! Stop!…” One teacher interrupted, a couple of whips landing simultaneously on the backs of Tunde and Tijani who were disrupting proceedings at the morning assembly. We…
Diary of a Wanderer 