I Have a Dream

I have a dream that i will become a Banker

Saw myself in a well tailored suit and tie

Briefcase in hand and driving a Peugeot 504 PAN

I did not envisage that in living my dream

I had to leave the comfort of my bed,

My mother's loving and pampering arms at age seven

For a Government approved Primary School

Where i got my ass whipped almost everyday

By teachers, Seniors in Class and School Prefects alike

It never occurred to me that i would go through

Secondary School where i met boys who were not smiling and

Teachers who were more interested in enriching themselves

Than impacting knowledge

I did not know that i would attend a University, where i was thought that

Despite the fact that you are free to express yourself

It is best to keep your opinions to yourself

Else you will spend 7 years studying a 4years course

And that it is always easier to use what you have to get what you want.

I never anticipated the stress of NYSC

The pain of Joblessness and unemployment

Now i am living my dream job

Yet i am so worried cos

I did not imagine the targets i was given

Various meetings and appraisals

I wasn't even told that i would have to contend with

A Boss that can never be satisfied

Still I have a dream of

Becoming my own Boss.

I have a dream of marrying a beautiful wife

But little did i know that this quest of mine

Will take me through

Shade, Kemi, Queen, Bolanle, Bridget, Onyii, Chioma and lots more

No one told me that my heart will be so broken

That it would be hard to breathe and i wouldn't see fun in Loving again for 3years

I wasn't informed that beyond the cuddling and intimacy

Comes altercations, quarrels and inconsistency of emotions

I had to discover by experience that

Love is not just evident in words but better expressed by actions

Now at 32, looking back at all I have been through

Though I have become wiser, stronger and factual

Still I have the Dream

I have a dream

That I would become a joyful mother of Children

Have kids both Male and Female to grace my home

Little did I know that I would have to contend with

Series of emotional outbursts due to hormonal Changes

Inconvenience of Morning sickness, Loss of appetite and persistent fever

Body pains, weakness and the ultimately Labor Pains.

Looking back at the years and all of the Dreams i have had

I have learned not to just dream

But also to consider the processes that leads to

The actualization of my dreams.

Nothing good comes easy, they say

Still

I HAVE A DREAM

Acceptance

Is it not funny how we live through life seeking approval, and in turn acceptance, from everyone?

We get into a new environment, Instead of observing people and choosing our acquaintance carefully,

We get in the mix and flow with every and anyone, the good, the bad and the ugly

In the end we enslave ourselves to ideologies and actions that are inconsistent with our beliefs and principles

And turn around to blame everyone when we are hurt and unfulfilled.

Know this

Most People will only approve of you

When you are their slave, without a dream and ambition

Because human beings are scared of quality and feasible dreams

The intimidation they feel from the magnitude of your dream

Would first make them scorn you and

when they discover that you are on the right track,

They criticize you unproductively

Believe me

It doesn't matter what anyone feels about you, human feelings are never stable.

What matters most is what God feels about you and

What you feel about yourself

Take a time and think about this

How many accomplished men are celebrated?

They are criticized and seen as worthless till they are late

Then everyone comes around and Brands them a Legend

Have u ever asked yourself why?

No one is intimidated by a dead man no matter how big his accomplishment is

Some would even paint bogus pictures of their non-existent personal relationship.

Every Celebrated Legend is either DEAD or Retired from his area of competence

So,

If you want everyone to accept or approve of you,

You would most probably wait till you are Dead

Jesus was seen as a mad man till he died

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King jnr. were called extremist and a rebel 

till they were assassinated. It is amazing that years later

The same government which assassinated them made them Heroes and Legends.

Lets come back home, to Nigeria

Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, who championed the Biafra cause

Was accorded little, non-existent respect while he was alive

Immediately he died various state Governments, friends and foe alike

Even those who once debased him had something honorable to say about him

Why?

He being dead is no Longer a threat to them

What about MKO, Kudirat Abiola and co.

Believe it or not

Every Living legend has critics

Some of them constructive, other abusive

People would only rally round and sing their praises when they are dead.

Therefore 

Thinking of ways to Please everyone is a waste of Precious Energy

Know this

You cannot be a Man-pleaser without eye-service

And eye-service is an indication of gross incompetence

I don't care what your degree or years of experience is

Being a man-pleaser blindfolds you to reality and

Ensnares you to men

Wake up from your slumber open your eyes to Reality

Everyone accepts you when you are not a threat.

If God accepts you, Accept yourself

Every other person can fall in line if they so choose

If not, Who Cares?

Lily in the Mire

From my early days all I know is the Mire

I grew in the dung, played in dirt and slept among rubbish

Worms and bacteria was my companion

the walls around tried to crush me

Still I thrived.

I pierced through soil, moist, thorns and dung

Just to see the brightness of day

Though i rose to the surface

My abode remains the dumping site for Refuse

Rejects from a better populace

I became an outcast in my own world and

Chlorine, nitrous substances and 

micro-organisms became my daily Companion

I hurt for many nights, Cried for many hours

Wish i could be like others

Envied them in the cozy and comfortable environment

The stench of my surrounding was killing me and

I was a slave in my world

The heaviness of my heart was much more than words can explain

I looked around and saw another in same environment

Having a time of her life, everyone attracted to her and

I wondered what it is that attracts people to her

Later in the evening i consulted with her

And she told me to daily 

open my hands to the brightness of the sunlight

It sounded so silly but i decided to give it a try

Early the next day i opened my hands up and

embraced the warmth of the sunlight

this i did continuously till

one morning, to my amazement

i heard someone pointing at my hands

telling others how beautiful it is

I could not believe it!

as worthless and smelly as i was

i am being appreciated in my hell-hole

Soon i became a star and a symbol of beauty

Everyone wants to associate with me

and as long as my hands remain open

they kept trooping in just to see me

my lonely days are long gone

and moody nights are over

now all i see is Bliss

I could not understand then

how opening my hands to the warmth of 

the sunlight can turn my situation around

But now i do

Listen

Let me share the secret with you

The dark side of your life is only

the part you have shielded from the light of reason

As long as your hands open up everyday

Your face livens up and

Your heart opens up to the beauty of opportunities around you

Soon everyone will see the beauty of your heart and

many will come to the warmth of your embrace

You might say you are having it real Bad

Stop kidding 

I have had it Worse

Though the situations around me remains the same

I got to understand that it is the right environment

Needed for my emergence

Take a cue from me and believe same

Open up your hands

Liven up your face and embrace the warmth of the Light

I am the......

                ............Lily in the Mire.