Shame on death!

With a heavy heart I type

What I’m typing, I don’t really know actually

I see your pictures all over Fb, IG, Whatsapp and BBM

I see all the ‘RIPs’

I see all the ‘we’ll miss you’

And I’m hoping someone will wake me up from this nightmare

And tell me it was just a bad dream

And all is still well

I remember you being wheeled around in the mortuary

And I broke down in tears

Because I couldn’t believe that was really the end

I pass by the cemetery

And memories of how you were lowered into the ground right in front of us flood in

I dial your number sometimes

Hoping I’ll hear your voice at the other end of the line

I wish my phone could ring and I’ll see your name on it

I wish I could wake up to the sweetest message from you

I wish I’ll hear a knock on our door

And see you at the door when I open it

I wish all the beautiful memories could be kept alive

Alive forever

Wondering what’s going to happen to all the passion

The businesses

The dreams

The hopes

The youthfulness

The life

The love

How can forever turn out to be this short?

How do good people just disappear?

How can death be so cruel?

How can someone so full of life become lifeless

Well, I hope you are having a good rest

Send my love to daddy

Tell him I still remember him everyday

Tell him we all miss him

Tell him mummy has been strong

Everybody has been

But now, I don’t know how strong I can get

I don’t know if I have any strength left

But I have to be strong right?

I have to be fine

Yeah, that’s what they say

That’s what everybody wants to see and hear

Help me tell God I think I’m losing it

Tell him to help me to keep on loving him

To keep on moving

To keep on believing

The owner has once again taken one of my dearest people

But what can I do

But believe he knows the best still?

Keep having a good rest till we see again

You’re free from struggles

Free from this cruel world

I won’t say RIP

No, I won’t

How I hate to say this

Sleep, sleep on…

Three hours away from death

Imagine it’s 8:55pm on 31^st December, 2015 and you are on a hospital bed. The doctor tells you that you have just 3 hrs to live.

Now think about the different thoughts that could be going through your mind at that time. Thoughts of different things you’ve been doing, both good and bad (especially the bad) will flash through your mind. You’ll probably start praying, asking for forgiveness of sins.  You’ll probably start to beg God and make promises that you’ll stop this or do that if only he would just spare your life to see a new day and a new year.

You are still alive now. Yeah, we made it into 2016. You may wonder...but I was not on a sick bed on 31^st December (or maybe you were), so how does this concern me? The point is we’ve all escaped death one way or the other; either cases we are aware of or those we don’t even know anything about. And here we are in 2016. Yeah, we made it. And many of us are still on the same road we were on last year. Have you forgotten all the promises and resolutions so fast? Have you started working towards all the goals you carried over from 2015? Have you started thinking of new things you can do this year? Are you still holding a grudge against that person? Why not pick up the phone and call him or her or at least send a message now? You’ll be surprised they probably don’t have anything against you and even if they still do, you never can tell the impact your call or message could make.

I’ll like you to read this piece carefully. It’s something many of us have seen a lot of times, I know.

3  There is a time for everything,

    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,

    a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3     a time to kill and a time to heal,

    a time to tear down and a time to build,

4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,

    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6     a time to search and a time to give up,

    a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7     a time to tear and a time to mend,

    a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8     a time to love and a time to hate,

    a time for war and a time for peace.

-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

NOW is the time to heal, build, mend, love, seek peace... NOW is the time to reflect on our lives. NOW is the time to make the change. NOW is the time to drop the bad habits. NOW is the time to move closer to God.

There’s a time for everything...The time is NOW

The Owner

We had you for a while
But the true owner took you away
Without notice

I never knew this will come up so soon
It's been so good having you around
We shared the sad and happy times
You gave the world around you your best
It really hurts that everything came to an end in just a twinkle of an eye
But hey! What can we do about it now?

I'm tempted to ask why
But that I will never do
The owner has control over everything
Who am I to ask why?

I'm tempted to break down and cry
But I'll hold myself
The owner has done the best for the moment
Why do I have to cry again?

It hurts that we watched the one that was full of life
Lie down lifeless
Words can't take back the shock
Condolences can't erase the pain
Tears will not b able to clean the hurt
Only the owner can give peace to our heavy hearts
And give us a lasting comfort

All we can still say is thank you
Because the owner has come to take you
To a beautiful place
A place of rest
Where there is no stress
A place of peace
Where there is no war
A place of wealth
Where lack doesn't exist
A place of joy
Where there is no sickness or mourning

We love you so much
But the owner loves you more
Have a wonderful rest in a world free of turmoil

This is dedicated to everyone that has lost a dear one. The true consolation can only come from God, the one that owns us all. May God give us the strength to carry on in difficult times like this. May the helper of the helpless uphold us.

Why are we so in love with the dead?

There's something that's been on my mind for sometime. Seeing "RIP Fada U-turn" on status updates, news and different blogs/sites since yesterday just brought the thought back.

I've come to realise that I appreciate a song more when it's already stale. And somehow, I was able to link this up with news about Fada U-turn's death. I'm going somewhere.

I've not actually lost someone really dear to me(like a very close relative or friend) but I hear of deaths everywhere. Seeing many posts and write-ups by people who seem to be affected by his death, wishing him a peaceful rest and claiming he'll be missed, I can't help but wonder where these people have been all along. If I'm not wrong, this is someone we haven't heard much from for years and nobody really talked about him.

Though I remeber that his very old song "Yetunde Yetunde o , Yetunde mi da?...", it's not like I'm a fan of Fada U-turn in any way because saying that will be far from the truth. It's just that this reminds me that we sometimes pay more attention when we hear about the death of someone.

This is not about Fada U-turn alone but also about the death of anyone around we've
heard of. I think about those posts, comments and pictures that come up on facebook especially on the official students' union page whenever a UIte dies. Though they go on for only a short while after the death, it could be overwhelming. The same thing goes for others, though it's more pronounced when celebrities are involved.

Many people have been made popular through their deaths. In fact, I think we celebrate and talk more about deaths than births. We tend to talk so much about people, remember the good times and say sweet things about them after they are gone. The painful thing is that we sometimes never get to say these lovely things to them while they are still very much around. Maybe that explains why I sometimes prefer old songs to new ones. Maybe it's just in our nature to value something/someone more when we have lost them or when they are no longer what/who we had or knew.

It will be so  nice if we actually shower all that care on them, say all these sweet things and make them feel special as much as we can when they are useful...when those people can actually feel them. So, even when they are gone, we can be sure they are happy with us wherever they are. We can be sure saying/doing those things when they are gone will not make us hypocrites. God help us all.

Maybe it will be better if we are not only in love with the dead but also the living...just maybe.