Delayed hope makes the heart sick, but fulfilled desire is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12).

Life left her long ago, even though she still breathes.
As she lies on the tattered mat in her section of the smelly shanty, Waiting for her husband to return at night with her first meal for the day,
She remembers the years she lost to the lullaby of hope.

Hope! The paradise it paints often pushes the poor through the years.
But there is only so much one can take when reality despises our dreams and desires.
When old age hovers your wrinkly youth and all the castles you thought you’d build remain in your head,
And your native land continues to dim your light; for how long can you keep up with hope?

READ ALSO: The Poet: Ever Get Tired?

Well, when reality jolts you from years of delusion, you simply stop hoping for change.
You strive to stay afloat in the quagmire of hardship assailing your boat.
All your years of hard work have come to naught because you now know that fate has always been skewed against you. And you can’t ever keep up.

A little bit of suffering, a little break to steal a smile.
A little bit of depression today; a little break to force out a smile tomorrow.
A little bit of hardship, a little bit of broken backs and dreams.
When is it going to end? Maybe. Maybe the generation after yours will enjoy the fruits of the giant land. But what if the yoke never breaks?

Oladire tries to catch some sleep under Ojota Bridge, but the feasting mosquitoes won’t let him.
It makes no sense that these blood-thirsty bastards won’t leave a starving wheelbarrow pusher alone.
This malnourished man has a wife and seven children in the village.
He left home in search of a greener pasture that his hometown could not provide.

READ ALSO: The Poet: Finding Sanity in a Hellhole

Frustration is the language of tired people,
And grim is the colour of defeated people.
Sometimes, dark thoughts caress the corners of his mind in moments of frustration.
Steal, kill or kidnap for money?
Though he squashes them with the little strength he can muster,
What happens if he can no longer keep up?