for Wale
by Nattie O’Sheggzy
The candle is flickering to its death;
You, you and I have had a go at our future.
You came pint-sized with elephant’s head
To bring a smile where gloom paced
In a tango with hopelessness.
Just like the first day that zoomed forth
And I called to sound the alarm,
You broke the news matter-of-factly:
“I am quitting this drudgery.”
Your voice quivering like the cactus
In the ocean of sand dunes.
With bated breath, I looked on
Hoping you would eat
Those blistering words as they fell off.
Fate thrust us on each other’s paths
With a force that welded us together.
Family quests severed the umbilical cord;
In a fell swoop, the wax cried to the plinth
As I sit here wishing you stayed.
Go, go, go, who am I to delay thee?
To the land where future holds aloft
The dreams cast in golden allure,
Go forth to harvest thy filial sweat:
To laughter,
Those banters
That pulled us
Off our seats,
That camaraderie,
Those frank words
In-camera,
Those tiny ears
That learnt to listen,
Those fleeting feet
Ready to move
That large heart
Bleeding to shelter all.
Above all those,
That YOU
Who never tired me,
God be with you.
When the sun plays hide and seek
Behind the clouds
The land is parched the seedling weak
Brown is the hue and withering
Is this flower that once bloomed
In the garden we once shared.
My brother weaned off
At the teats of another mother
My company nonetheless,
Fare thee well,
As I shoot you on with this song:
Destiny never goes wrong
To help sound this knell.
Smoky Quartz 