To Those Who Were Before Me And After Me

In my life I have been blessed by your existence
Now I remember those wise comments you make
In a sentence, even somehow carelessly.
Hardly did I know they lay before before my path as I advance in everyday.
How could I have known that there will come a time
when I would say the same things to myself.

They say time waits for no man!
But sometimes time waits for us to mature
So that we could appreciate moments of our past.

I just want to say to those who are before me and those after me:
"I am grateful to be in the middle"
You showed me where I am going
And you bring me back to things I miss while I was going too fast.

I am grateful
Grateful to life that has brought you all my way!


(c) Emeka Okereke - Lagos, 18/07/2009

Lost. Again!

Not for one night will I sleep
Nor for one day will I sit.
This fire burning inside me
Too heavy to contain
Occupying each morsel of my being
It keeps my hands from burning

Like a carver
Every minute I chisel within
Insisting on making me straight
But sometimes I am forced to stop and ask
Perhaps I am loving myself far too much
Or I hate me.

This is the point when one becomes an enemy of both camps
Caught in the middle,
Every thought becomes a double-edged sword
Paranoid
Panic
Perplexed

I am lost again.

But this time it is different
For I accept that I cannot always know where I am to be what I must.
For the universe is an endless garden for all.
As vast as it is.
It is a gift to be in a place any yet in another at the same time.
How else can I explain the space between you and me?

Reality is flexible - formless
Like water ,it takes the shape of what contains it - us!
And like water, there are no boundaries...
Just a smooth flow, like music, like harmony.

When I shake your hands or take your body in mine
It is ok if we get lost in each other
For like water, the currents will always lead the way.


(c) Emeka Okereke - Algiers, Algeria, 08/07/2009.

Between Johannesburg And Lagos

Born a traveler
I am only confined to the wind
The earth only receives me but slightly
My footprints are scattered across many lands
Of which none I can hardly call mine
Constantly laden with profound expectations
Of me, and others, of me.

Society push
I shove
In a world where handshakes are but palm-readings
I am only good as your next project...or not...

But I would rather be less than settle for less
The wind is my friend, even the whirlwind.
They say it will uproot me
I say it will uplift me.
They say it will quench my fire
I say it will tame it.

The only danger I see is myself.
As for you,
Really,
You can't do to me what you've already not done to yourself.


(c) Emeka Okereke - kenya Airways (en route from Joburg to Lagos), 30/06/2009.

Honey

I watched
As the honey trickle down slowly
And into the tea
Wondering how this will end
I didn't want to spill it over the container while trying to stop it
But at some point it has to stop

Then...
The flow broke
And the honey retreated in a backward motion
Smoothly as it came
Then to myself I said,
"what comes must surely go"
The question is: when and how?

But it's never always as smooth as the honey
Only if one is fortunate.

Memory Loss

I have been around a lot of wheres and whos
Constantly my mind-scape alternates
New faces with new facades
I would need a formula if I must stay protected from all those opinions,
Of myself and others.
The day ends with a feeling of resignation and a baggage to unpack
And the morning brings a new day to fulfill.

Please be gentle on me
It is not always a blessing not to remember a name
But as time records it all
There is really nothing lost to memory
Therefore be gentle on me

If it is truth,
Your face is your name.


(c) Emeka Okereke - Johannesburg June 2009 (exact day unidentified)

Dots Of Thoughts

I am. I was not or going to be. I am.

*****

If most people can comprehend or envision the amount of effort you put into

getting a thing done, then you probably did not sacrifice as they think you did.

*****

If you are a man of your words, then it would be easier done than said.

*****

I don't always want to dance, sometimes I want to watch others dance.

*****

The things we call secrets are the purest form of truths that we ought to
proclaim, but instead we bury them carefully underneath a thick mask of our lies.

*****

If I was a soldier, the first thing I would get bored of would be the uniforms.

*****

It is good to follow your heart, but only if your heart is your friend.

*****

Nothing is old as long as there is not just one side to it.

*****

We get use to things because these things use us.

*****

Sometimes the first impression is what you make of it and not what it is.

*****

Love is not peace, but peace is the outcome of love.

*****

Love Is. Truth Is. Time Is. And that's all there is.

*****

I say let your imaginations run wild, but don't run with it.

*****

Promise is the wish to not fail, but not the impossibility of failure.

*****

The man who spends most of his time regretting his mistakes

is the man who does not count his blessings.

(c) Emeka Okereke - drawn from various periods

Do Just Nothing!

Have you ever been in bed and you suddenly feel the ceiling rushing at you?
Then you decide to go for a walk but the ground denies your feet.
Every step is leading downstairs
You go for window shopping and feel you would break in.
You are hungry yet can't stand the smell of food
You feel too warm because your blood boils
That is when everyone becomes every enemy
And a threat to your existence
Your smile is staged
You suspect your strength and believe in your weaknesses

That is how it feels when you want to do everything !

In this time, it is better to do just nothing!


(c) Emeka Okereke - Johannesburg, 15/05/09

Despite The Odds [One Day At A Time]

These days I sing joyful songs
I know a lot in the world are sad
But the day has brought me a fortune I must fulfil
In times like this I forget my guilt
That in my wants I spell doom for a few.
My weaknesses are the pain of a friend

But I have sworn never to pile up more dirt on the road
My offenses will never alter my defenses
A day shall come when I shall embrace the love the judges me
And reward me with the seeds of my deeds
But in joy my spirit will shine its light.

One day at a time.


(c) Emeka Okereke - Johannesburg, 11/05/09.

I Must Live

Now I must live
To leave the old ways for a new road
With streaks of light adorning my feet as I walk the streets
This beauty around me will find a place within me
Fill me until I am silent
Enough to make my heart my friend
And hear less the voice of my worries

My day will end with a smile and begin with a grateful prayer
In the day, I will dance to the tunes of nature's predictions
And make my joy known in deeds

For all preciousness of life
I must live


(c) Emeka Okereke - Johannesburg 04/05/09

Tales From The Underground

When I arrived in Europe for the first time it was Paris.
After the plane was the train
It was a long ride underground.
" Where is my Paris ? " I asked.
" Please someone help ! "
The Paris I came with as a hand luggage !
Of skies of light and diamond moon !

How long will I be here without a landscape ?
How long will I be here before I am greeted by a happy face ?
Where is the " bon-jour "?
When will I hear the careless laughter of a child ?
How come my TV says people talk ? My TV must be dumb !

Hello! My name is Emeka
E – M – E –K- A
Anyway, nevermind.
May be not here. Maybe not today.
For I am in the métro and not the metropolis

It feels ...hmm, nice. Yes, nice to be here. In Lagos we don’t have métro ( stupid Lagos !)

Yet there is something bizzare about it.
Now I feel guilty for being here
Like I have just added too much joy to a useful sorrow.
Well, they say it’s Paris where the choice is plenty and the choice is free.
So I will take my fun elsewhere

Yet after two and something years, I am still riding the metro
But now I understand why everyone wear black
Because I too, am wearing black.