IT'S NEVER FAR FROM YOU...!!!

IT’S NEVER FAR FROM YOU

It’s been over a score & some few years

Since I became a tenant of this wild, wild planet

From a distance, my ears have beheld countless events

My eyes have witnessed numerous & unimaginable misfortunes

I always thought bad things only happen to bad people

I knew I was immune from all these calamities

Because I knew I was a good man within & without

Kuuku’s father suddenly lost his job

 But I thought mine was too skillful to encounter that fate

Olembe & Selorm had been combing for job opportunities

Since they both graduated five years ago

I never gave a thought to their situation

Because I knew that could never happen to me

At the age 40, Haruna is still struggling to get a woman to settle down with

Olivia has been writing the same exams for the past 3 years without success

Our next door neighbour’s son is almost 3 years

Yet he’s unable to even pronounce his own name properly

I see orphans & the underprivileged every now & then on the streets

But their plights hardly attract my attention

These incidents are pitiful

But I never picturised myself or anyone closer to me in such situations

I always thought I was exempted

Little did I know that the earth does not sit idle in space

It continually rotates & revolves around the sun

I never ever imagined my good self in Olivia’s shoes

But today, I find myself writing, rewriting & re-rewriting my social studies paper

If I’m not mistaken, the next sitting will be my forth

I’m pretty sure the examiner is even familiar with my name & handwriting by now

Countless situations have occurred to people so dear to me

That I barely imagined could ever happen

A lot of water has gone under the bridge

Times & seasons have changed from the genesis of creation

Yet, the same ancient principles that governed the earth remain unchanged

It took me awhile & a bit of pain to realize this

Irrespective of where one finds himself on the fortune ladder

He should always cushion himself against the unforeseen

Whether good or bad

Because as mortal as we are

NOTHING IS FAR FROM US….