HOPING FOR FREEDOM

A hope for freedom

Nothing but evil surrounding my thoughts

Fog of sadness visiting my gladness

Wishes of riches destroying my conscience

So why I wonder, will I ever be free?

Free from these thoughts of unsecured future

Free from the wonders of unfruitful efforts

Free from my struggles and unyielding upshots

So I wonder, should I even be free?

Since the dreams of my childhood laid buried in the ground

And the joy of adulthood is nowhere to be found

Since the chips only learned to be down

Now, I know, I must never be free

Cloud of darkness must envelope my soul

Thoughts of evil must frequent my mind

Corruption and crimes eat away my conscience

If only I want, and wish to be free

Free from poverty and financial wreckage

Free from the sins I suffered but never committed

Free from disappointments and frequent headaches

Yes, I know, I must never be free

But I wish to free, I will work to be free

Corruption and crimes must not take control

The light and darkness both fight for my soul

But I must stay in the light; I must want to be free

*as a Nigerian, in a country that is trying to heal herself from the corruptions that have eaten deep into her morals, I struggle every day not to indulge in the regular practice. As a graduate, I have no stable job, I only see the temptation of following the crowd to make myself free from financial fetters. I thought of engaging in many wrong practices just to be free, but I must fight with my soul and wrestle down every thought of corruption. Even though people has almost believed that you cannot be okay without indulging in those, but that is not the freedom that I craved, I must never be corrupt if I truly wanted to be free. so, I hope on hope, that one day, I will truly be free.

picture from 123RF

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THE FATE THAT NEVER WAS

He didn’t mind colliding into anything or anybody as he ran, all his thoughts fixated on how to stop the impending disaster. He used the speed dial feature on his phone once again, putting the phone in a speaker mode as it rang; the result was always the same- no answer!

    “No!” He shouted as he made efforts to run faster. “God, you need to help me”, he prayed and kept the cruise like a bull, avoiding obstacles in swiftness, and overcoming hurdles like a skilled athlete. He should have boarded a cab, but this is the time in Lagos where bus stops were stuffed up like a stadium hosting a derby, and a tortoise is faster than the traffic. Besides, his destination is just some few streets ahead.

    “Yes, thank God”, he said within himself as Nike’s house became visible. For the last time, he speed-dialed her number again and it was a dead end. He went right at the door and straight for the door latch- it was firmly shut. He shook it two more times before he flung it open with his foot. He slapped the wall for the switch and the horror in the darkness came into light. They fumbled for the duvet to cover their nakedness, but the surprise on their face was laid bared. “No wonder she wasn’t picking up”, he told himself and he went closer to the bed.

    “What is the meaning of this?” The female’s voice tried to bark. The male didn’t even talk; he concentrated on covering his todger with the sheet.

    “Kike, I’m so sorry; I thought it was Nike”, he stammered as he realized his goof. “I thought Nike was at home, I need to…"

    “You should be ashamed of yourself, Ike. Why are you still looking for her after what you asked her to do against her will? Threatening her throughout last night”, Kike, Nike’s roommate shouted at him.

    “I’m sorry”, he tried to explain, but she cut in and said, “Don’t be; she has been at the hospital down the street since morning, she should be through by now, so, I guess it is too late now, if you are even thinking of stopping her”! He didn’t bother to listen again; he dashed outside and started running towards the hospital. It is just a few houses down the street.

    She was just coming out of the hospital when he screeched right in front of her, with a smoke of dust everywhere. “How is my baby”? He asked her, gasping, holding her arms for support.

    “What baby?” She asked. “I just aborted it just like you instructed. You said you will never see me again if I didn’t”.

His hand slid slowly from her arm as he fell on his knees with both hands clamping his head. “Nooooooo”, he shouted, but she stood there, lost, but only he knows what just happened. The voice of the witch doctor rang in his ears again, “you need to stop her now before she aborts the pregnancy. If she did, you can never make it in life as a man, not in this world”!

picture copied from the internet

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BEFORE YOUR MOMENT OF MADNESS (A short play)

SPEAKER: [walks to the lectern and swipes over the screen of his notepad. Clears throat and faces audience]: Did you hear that Bimpe is dead?

AUDIENCE: [shocked]: Haaaa!

SPEAKER: [unfazed]: Relax. That is not the only news I have for you.

AUDIENCE: [looked at each other]

SPEAKER: [clears throat again] Judging by your first reaction, I could deduce that you didn’t know that Akin didn’t graduate.

[A man stands up from the audience]: That is impossible; he was the best student in his department.
[The audience murmurs, knocking their foreheads at each other, transmitting both disbelief and surprise]

SPEAKER: [smiling. He raises his hand as a sign for them to stop murmuring while he swipes with the other. There came silence]: And lastly, I bring you the news that Blessing is in the hospital, in a coma.

A LADY:  [stands abruptly from the audience]: Why all these?

SPEAKER: Good question! [His face lights up in excitement] That is the reason we are all here. For the fact that these three were once part of our team [he pauses], I have no pity to give them over their present state, or predicament.

Wickedness!! Bad leader!!! [The audience passes various unpleasant judgments].

SPEAKER: [laughing like a mad scientist who just invested a virus. He gestured for them to cool down or sit down] What happened to these three once-wise-people with great potentials and hopes hung around their neck, could, or should I say will, happen to more of you soon!
[He started laughing again; that mad scientist’s kind of laughter. His voice reverberates through the speakers].

[By this time, the audience has started to rustle from seat to seat, some asking for permission to start trouble with the speaker while some were asking for calm. The speaker kept smiling, shaking his head. He leaned on the lectern with his elbow, watching the events bore before him. Several minutes later, there was calmness, and he was reluctantly urged to continue]

SPEAKER: I will ask for you to listen carefully while I speak, and no matter how you get angry while I do this, you must allow me finish, then you can start your troubles with me for rejoicing at the fall of some of our important members
[He pauses for their reaction, and they urge him to be quick and be short. He thanked them] …
Three weeks ago, when Blessing visited me at my office, right before she was plunged into  a vegetative state of coma by her loving husband[short laugh], I tried to advise her to seek a legal separation in her union with her husband whom apparently, was in the wrong profession. The husband currently works as a banker, but he could have been a successful boxer. Who knows, he if was only using Blessing as a boxing practice [he chuckled]? I said, she could have gotten him a punching bag as a birthday present instead of using herself for his punching practice. But instead, Blessing talked to me about how she was the one making him angry, and how she could still make it work. I laughed as usual and told her to her face that it is impossible to change a man. You can only change what is not embedded in a gene, and not how a man was created. Apparently, she was angry, because she sent me a text later in the day [he raises his tablet] about how I wasn’t married, and I cannot understand what love means. So, I shut my mouth, only to be called by the same husband that our dear Sister lies in expectation in the hospital. And while our stupid Sister decided against protecting herself from the abusive marriage through legal separation, the husband was wise enough to protect his own image. He said our sister fell from the stairs!

AUDIENCE: Ha! [There were murmurs of anger, grieves and many more].

SPEAKER: [Urges them to calm down by slapping his palm on the wooden lectern] silence please…please… [The noise faded out] Like I said, that is not all [clears his throat]. Akin, our bright young man who joined us after the seminar we held at the University of Lagos, is now a school dropout.

A MAN: [stands up abruptly] That is impossible!
[He looked around at the other audiences for their reaction before he continues]
He has only one year left. He wanted our help, and we contributed for his tuition fees right here!
[He shouted the last two words and slams his hand on the backrest of the seat in his front. The 'seater' looked back at him with annoyance and hissed. The audience starts to murmur again, but the speaker was full of smiles].

A LADY: Surely, our leader [she points to the speaker], didn’t give him the money!

[There were shouts of ‘yes’, ‘maybe’ and several others]

SPEAKER: [Not moved by their accusations, he calmly opened his clutch bag, and brings out two pieces of papers. He hands it to the usher beside him to pass it around for the audience to see].

USHER: [collects it, walks to the audience, and gave the papers to the first audience, who will glance through and pass it on to the next]

SPEAKER: That is the duplicate of the bank deposit slip we used in paying into Akin’s account, and the letter of acknowledgment and appreciation he sent after he confirmed the receipt of the aid.
[He bites his lower lip, nods to an imaginary melody only he could hear, and taps his lectern playfully like beating a drum. The usher returns the papers to him].
Thank you [he collects the slips]. So, I later found out that Akin was sick, and that sickness affected his brain and could no more think properly, so, he squandered his money!

AUDIENCE: [shows pity. Most of them shake their heads, or bites their fingers]

A MAN: But why did you still say you felt no pity for him? At least, if we may conclude that Blessing allowed her own predicament, what about poor Akin, who was struck by a disease?

SPEAKER: Good question. [He gets down from the podium, and moves towards the audience]. Akin didn’t get struck by a disease that he couldn’t control. His girlfriend gained an admission but couldn’t pay her tuition fees. So, our own great Akin decided to give her his own money with the hope of securing another one before the deadline. Well, it happened that he couldn’t make the deadline.

AUDIENCE: That is madness!

SPEAKER: [Laughs wickedly] Madness you say? But it is ‘love’, isn’t it? I bet he will be fulfilled seeing his girlfriend in school than himself. After all, he has he has tried as far as education is concerned. [He lets out a wicked chuckle again].

A LADY: That is craziness! How dumb of him! [The audience agreed]

SPEAKER: [hushes her] DO not say that. How could that can’t be craziness? He only helped a damsel in distress, just like we helped him raise the cash for his tuition fees. And I can tell you, unless the girl is crazy, she will get herself another man right in the school. I don’t think after she graduated, she will be glad to associate herself with a dropout! Especially [he pauses], a poor one like Akin! [He reverberates in his evil kind of laughter again]. It was solely on Akin, who wasn’t forced at gunpoint. It was his decision, and whatever the outcome, he should deal with it.  The same way I wish Bimpe will not be in hell for aborting for his boyfriend!

AUDIENCE: What?

A LADY: So, Bimpe died through abortion?

SPEAKER: Well, her friend said, and I quote, “her boyfriend said he wasn’t ready, so he begged her to abort it for them”. May her soul Rest In Peace, even though I knew her soul will be Reserved In Punishment!

AUDIENCE: Ha!!!

SPEAKER: [gets serious] Yes. May the guy live on, and enjoy his life in prosperity, in the bosoms of another woman. May Bimpe’s soul….well [he shrugs], who knows? I bet she will be regretting now, I bet she will have wished clocked were turned backwards, and she would have made the right decision of abstinence, or protecting herself. I know Akin will wish he was wise, and if…if…if only Blessing will come back alive from her coma, since the doctors say they are not sure, she would have wished she listened to my advice. She would have bought her husband a punching bag, or leave the abusive union.

I agree, Love exists, but it resides only with God [he raises his finger], and that has been proven over and over again. But you guys [he pointed to the audience and moves his hand from one end to another] will never learn.  You will continue to wallow in the dark outcome of this man-made love, which the wise has always wielded as a weapon against the fool. Now, who are the fools in these stories? And who will remain the fool after this story? The question will be answered in the end. You either be the wise one, or the idiot!

[With this, I walked back to the podium, packed my notes and my tablet, and I left through the door at the side of the stage]

CURTAIN DROPS, AND AUDIENCE REMAINS SILENT!

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BELIEVE ME, YOU DON'T WANT TO FORCE A BLOWJOB

These pictures were taken from the Akomor P. Isaiah’s blog. A man reportedly took his girlfriend to his friend’s house in Lagos.

A few hours later, the lady ran out screaming for help, saying she had been raped. Few minutes later, the man, with blood all over his body, also ran out crying for help.

But when the man came out screaming, neighbours were shocked and that was when they realised that the girl bit off the man’s joystick and this was done with her teeth.
The man is still in the hospital.

                                    ****************************

Well, I can't quite say the story is a fake, but I guessed the story was a lie. This is what I guessed happened:

I think the guy always forced the girl for a blowjob at gun point. But today, he forgot his gun and the girl saved herself...lol

Morale? Don't force a blowjob.

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THE STORY OF A GHOST

THE STORY OF A GHOST

This is a sad story, the story of a man who died trying. This is a story if a man who wished he hadn't listened to the distant yearning of darkness. This is a true life story, and it was written by a ghost!

Life was very easy since I was eating from my mother's palm. Things have been very great, feeding fat on my mother's purse. Then there was a twist of event, a bad turnaround. Things were expected to turn, but I never knew it would be for the worse.

Months turned to years, and suddenly I was 33 years old, still eating from my mother's palm, and feeding fat on her purse. Not that I did not try, not that I was lazy. Not that I wasn't educated, it's just that things were determined to be foggy.

I tried my hands on some few odd jobs, I tried to be self-employed. I pinched my hopes with my hard work, but was humbled with failures and woes. Soon, I became depressed; I wished to be on my own. I hoped I had a job, so I could repay my mother's effort. 

I was a good a Christian. I believed in God. I refused all invitations to atrocities, but yet I felt forsaken. My faith in God dwindled, I think he was never alive. My trust in him petered away, eaten by my fruitless efforts.

My mates got married, living large in sins and glory. They got jobs and said my time will come, but it seems there was never a time.Years turned to more years, and soon its decade waved from afar. My wishes now took a new turn, and I wished I was never born. Depression slowly crept in, I took solace only in talking to myself. Suicidal thoughts become frequent, and I began to believe in its wise songs of freedom.

I have written many applications, attended interviews like they were rituals. I have read so many company's profiles that I can begin to tell you offhand. And yet God refused to listen, I felt my prayers were wasted. I believed he wasn't even looking at me, maybe his face has been covered by the thick clouds.

My girlfriend has left me, even though she said she was the problem. I knew the truth, she couldn't wait any more years, not after waiting for ten. We thought things would be better after I graduated and served. It got better for her, but not for me, and that was the beginning of the problems. At first she got pregnant, but went ahead to abort it. And when I asked why, she said, because I cannot afford it.

First she will miss my calls, and she will apologize. But soon she started to ignore them and told me she had only been busy. Then there was another guy, a working class and a friend. At first he was just her solace until he became the one she is willing to marry. Though she asked me to move on, and she even prayed that I find my kind. She said she is certain that with my efforts I will eventually make it in life. But my songs of hope cannot put food on the table, and my efforts cannot buy her clothes. My pleas to her seem like a madman, who believed that everyone else is mad!

So, I listened to my soul, and its yearnings to be free. And to suicide I gave my ears, and he rocked me to sleep with his sweet lullaby of freedom!

But now I wish I hadn't listened, I wish my faith was strong. I tried to break free from the rope I have slipped my head into, my life sliding freely into the great beyond. There is no breaking free, there is no escaping. There is no need to struggle, for I ensured the rope was tight enough.

Right in my face, suicide clapped and laughed. The devil wined and dined as I slowly gave up my breath. I thought about my mom and her endless advice. She asked me to be strong, a virtue I always boasted that I have. Now I realize that I am weak, I admit that I am a coward. I will leave my mom in an endless grieve, and I wished I had never done this.

Hell awaits my soul, and my troubles become in vain. And yes, I feel no more pain, but the horror will linger forever.

Right after I died, while my soul awaits its judgement, I stood right beside my dangling body, hanging lifelessly from the ceiling. Then the unexpected thing happened, a text came into my phone. They said I have been hired, and my appointment letter is up for me to grab!

What a waste!

I hope to pass this message, as I walked my lonely path to hell. Please ensure you never give up, for one day it will surely be good.

*picture from www.loverofsadness.net

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SOME FREE WRITING CONTESTS FOR YOU FROM NOW TILL JULY 2015

Hey, there!

Are you a writer like me who wishes to enter into some writing contests for free and still earn some prize? Then, today is your lucky day as I have made some research about some writing contests which could be entered regardless of your country. Here are some below:

1. L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest

This is an opportunity for new and amateur writers of new short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy. No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. All awards are adjudicated by professional writers only. Prizes every three months: $1,000, $750, $500, Annual Grand Prize: $5,000 additional!

For more information, click on their official website here.

2. SLF Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds Grants

The SLF offers two new diversity-centered grants: Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds, both intended to foster the creation of speculative fiction work rich in diversity.

1. The $500 Diverse Writers grant is intended to support new and emerging writers from underrepresented and underprivileged groups, such as writers of color, women, queer writers, disabled writers, working-class writers, etc. -- those whose marginalized identities may present additional obstacles in the writing / publishing process.
2. The $500 Diverse Worlds grant is intended for work that best presents a diverse world, regardless of the writer’s background. Click here for more details from their official website.

3. The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award

This is an annual grant of $1,500 for an emerging writer of color. An unpublished writer is said to be preferred, although, one published work will not disqualify an entrant. This grant is intended to support the recipient in activities related to crime fiction writing and career development. She or he may choose from activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats; online courses; and research activities required for completion of the work. Kindly Click here for more information from the publisher's website.

4. THE WINTER TANGERINE AWARDS

As a quote on their website: We aim to honor new and emerging poets and prose writers who are creating electric work. Submissions will only be accepted from writers who have not yet published a novel or collection of any type. We aim to showcase writers based on the merit of their work, rather than the prestige behind their name, so submissions will be read entirely blind.

So, this is an opportunity for your work to speak for you. Check here for more information from their website.

So, guys, what are you waiting for? Let's test the waters right now.

*picture from simpson.edu

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THE DARK WAY TO HEAVEN

Hands clamped, the journey is about to begin

There will be no way out, there will be no reparation

Focus set, this will journey is purely a sin

I looked in your eyes, it was filled with determination

Only you know the way, even though it’s your first time

You must guide me all the way, and ensure I stay on the wet part

Slowly and gently, you guided me through the wet narrow way

In a dark room, the pain you couldn’t sway away

You held me so close; your grip on me was tight

Your voice getting louder, even in the growing pain

Up and down we went, you know the way so well

The dark narrow path that leads to heaven will never take me to hell.

*this is a story of defloration.

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A LETTER TO HALIE

a picture of HALiE, with my daughter

What shall I say about you? Should I write about your sexy figure, or the laurels of morals that shine around you? Shall I discuss about your large heart or the tendency to love those without a heart? Shall leave all that to talk about your bad side; that non existing part you never had?

I wonder how we got so close! To think we have never met is not even close. The love you have shown to me is inexplicably scary; and to realize you are far away is just twice as scary.

I could remember vividly how we collided with each… it was thru the funniest way. I thought it was just supposed to be a flair, so I could eat up my pizza and disappear with the air!

But I was so so wrong!

We became even more closer, so close we became brothers and sisters. You said you like to keep your virtue and like a big bros I agreed you shouldn’t be made a vacuum. Because you are not like most ladies…but most ladies will always strive to be like you. For most of them, being slutty is sexy, but your being sexy draws it’s essence from your decency!

Even with your angelic eyes, with high fashion-sense and the love for beauty, you never compromise on your high moral standards, nor got swept away in the buzzling air on the campus…

Fast forward, being way older than you, it is apparent I must become a father. So I picked on the most beautiful woman, the angelic queen who gave birth to your first true goddaughter. Who wouldn’t choose you? Who wouldn’t want you? Who wouldn’t pray that his daughter take after you? Aside her mom, who is also a woman of great morals, no one deserved to be a mother figure for the beautiful infant.

People say a lot of things, they said it’s impossible to be that close without any sexual intent, but I always make them realize this point, HALiE is a beauty without a stupid intent!

I can still rmember the names I used to call you? An angel with no wings; a witch with no evil heart. I used to call you ‘sky', the lady with the sexy eyes.

I really hope I can continue, but I must be able to write-on all day. But in all, I just want you to know, that I, with my lovely wife, is glad to have you as a godmother to our child!

God bless you. I wish you success!

Yours sincerely,

Dearest D

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