The Nature of Life
Be not dismayed
By those who have passed.
Death is just another breath,
Passageway to life.
Our ancestors
Who built the pyramids knew
There is no such thing
As someone being dead.
We never die.
Life is a continuing process.
We move from one life form
To another.
In this world of little men
With little knowledge,
Their ideas are elementary.
Their actions are juvenile.
When you don’t acknowledge
Your Spirit,
Your mind plays tricks on you.
Those of us who jumped overboard
During the middle passage knew
They made a choice
For the next life.
We are here for a moment.
The life we’ve been given
It may be honorable to exit
When misery and horror
Are all you have to look forward to.
There are many who I love
Who have moved on.
I am selfish.
I wanted them to stay with me.
Each of us have our own journey,
Our own mission.
We want to fulfill it
Then bask in the sun.
Sometimes clouds come.
They don’t go away.
I want to be strong enough,
I want to be wise enough
To allow the sun in me
To shine as bright as it can
For as long as I can.
When the clouds come
To block my shine,
I want to be ready
To move on.
April 12, 2020
- Abiodun Oyewole’s Open House with African-American Poets - 10/01/2021
- The African American Father - 06/21/2020
- The Responsibility of the African American Athlete - 06/12/2020