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Tears for Fears
I wanted to write a poem about the other day.
Nothing fancy, you know:
A verse or two to lessen my heart's burden.
Felt like crying but too exhausted to find the tears
The heavens appeared too gloomy to hear prayers.
For without warning came calamity straight out of the bright shadows
Heartless zombies fermenting venom in their shallow bellies
Turned eagles of pride into cursed carnivorous vultures!
It was apocalypse - no, Armageddon!
Mayhem!
I waited for the right words but couldn't write
for fatigue
Yet like a dull and incessant drumbeat for the dead
the words of old prophets kept their beat in my head:
"The sky was all purple and people running everywhere..."
"Everything go scatter-scatter"
"Things fall apart"
"The man died"
"Sunset at dawn"
"No longer at ease"
"The Gods must be crazy"
The heavens held that steely face all day
And the words I sought never came
Finally, stinging tears welled up but I was too tired to cry
Then the heavens opened up and sobbed
Big teardrops came down in a hailstorm and soaked the land
Soon, the giant steel claws will retire to the shades
The soldier ants and worker bees will depart the hive
To find uneasy rest and strange sanity in their nests
Soon, the steam and the smoke will clear
Life will sprout anew on tear-stained spots.
©Chris Emeka Ukachukwu, 2001
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