Ifedolapo Ogunniyi

I know you are feeling tense,
Life’s circumstances have you fenced,
Your voice seems to have lost its audience,
And inconvenience becomes your constant presence.

I know you have lost a sense of independence,
Daily, interference challenges your resilience,
The deity of omniscience, once so vibrant,
Now dwells in profound silence.

I know you battle against pestilence,
Where internal gas brings flatulence,
Doctors warn of its recurrence,
Threatening your very existence.

I know you yearn for affluence,
Yet even pence is in absence,
Your patience has outrun its sense,
Please resist any thoughts of violence.

I know your desires’ persistence,
But do not let them lead you to imprudence,
Guard your emotional intelligence,
For it might fade away under insistence.

I know the pressures that immense,
Think through each thought’s consequence,
In sequence, they may come, hence,
Boost your confidence and say yes to life.

Hold back on any impulsive threat…

© Ifedolapo Ogunniyi
2024

This is my captive heart’s silent plea,
Enchanted by your mystery.
Your laughter, music to my ear,
A distant star, my guiding sphere.

I long to speak, my feelings pour,
But words are lost, forevermore.
A shadow’s role, I am forced to play,
While yearning for the light of day.

Your every glance, a stolen art,
Ignites a flame within my heart.
A prisoner of hope and fear,
As silent days and nights appear.

A prisoner of hope’s sweet pain,
A constant strain, a heart in chain.
In dreams, our souls entwined as one,
But waking finds me lost and undone.

With every glance, my spirit’s stirred,
A secret love, a fragile word.
Oh, to confess, to set my heart free,
But fear’s cold hand holds captive me.

© Ifedolapo Ogunniyi
2024

No laughter rings, just heavy air,
Thick with dust, a scent of despair.
Saints Academy, a shattered frame,
Where echoes whisper children’s names.

“Wait,” they say, but wait for what?
A miracle? My heart feels taut.
Four precious lights, snuffed out too soon,
Can a mother’s love outshine this moon?

The ground convulses, mimics my plea,
Grief’s crushing weight, a drowning sea.
Will the sun pierce through this endless night?
Can these broken pieces find the light?

Memories dance, like phantoms fly,
Of playful smiles and reaching high.
Now cold and stark, this concrete tomb,
Where once my children found their room.

Before you tell me time will mend,
Think twice. My four and more, trapped without end.
Stars stolen, leaving only night,
This waiting holds no shred of light.

© Ifedolapo Ogunniyi

NB: Our heart goes out to the trapped students of Saint Academy, Jos, Nigeria. Keep breathing, help is on the way

In Jos, where laughter used to ring,
A hush descends, a heavy wing.
Saints Academy, a vibrant hive,
Now stands in silence, barely alive.

Seventeen vibrant flames, extinguished fast,
Crushed beneath the weight of the past.
But through the cracks, a fragile shoot,
A whisper of hope, takes tender root.

Where dreams were planted, a seed now sleeps,
Though hearts are heavy, where sorrow weeps.
The coming dawn, a golden ray,
Will chase the night and lead the way.

Each soul departed, a firefly’s gleam,
Their memory glows, a radiant stream.
A guiding light, their legacy burns,
In quiet strength, their spirit yearns.

We raise our voices, a mournful choir,
A promise of healing, a heart’s desire.
To lift the broken, mend what’s torn,
A chance to rise, though hope seems worn.

We weep, but see the embers flare,
A flicker of light, a silent prayer.
Each tear, a seed for a brighter day,
We’ll bridge the darkness, find a way.

Though Jos may wear a cloak of despair,
Resilience rises, a strength we share.
The stars may hide, but their light remains,
And in our dreams, hope still sustains.

© Ifedolapo Ogunniyi

NB: Saint Academy, Jos, may you find strength in these trying times.

Distraction wears a captivating guise,
Drawing you in with its allure,
Infatuation leading you astray,
Frivolous pursuits squandering time,
Neglecting what truly matters,
Opportunities slipping through your grasp.

Distraction takes on affliction’s shape,
Extending its grip to the highest peak,
Like a relentless disease it spreads,
Slowly consuming, never relenting,
Will you let it divert your gaze,
From the path you have carefully paved?

Distraction can wear the mask of relationships,
Exerting influence on every decision made,
Guiding you away from education’s path,
When misjudged, success becomes elusive,
Leading you down an arduous detour.

Distraction can become an addiction,
When love for something takes control,
Drugs imprisoning your very soul,
Peer pressure leaving you stranded,
Lost in the wilderness of stagnation.

Distraction truncates your journey,
Derailing your aspirations with ease,
Allow it, and it lingers till the end,
Refusing to depart until all is lost,
Reject it, and swiftly reach your goal,
Focus, the ultimate key to success.

It arrives subtly, assuming varied forms,
A friend gossiping with ill intent,
Or hours spent enslaved to your phone,
Days consumed by binge-watching tales,
Time mocks you, laughing as it slips away,
Without a pause or regard for your delay.

No longer shall we tolerate this halt,
Remain resolute and fix your gaze,
Stay focused, undeterred and determined.

© Ifedolapo Ogunniyi

Honey, we need to talk, to clear the air,
It’s not just grand gestures, but showing you care.
Communication’s key, let’s not leave it behind,
In our words and actions, true love we can find.

Remember when I was stressed and near tears?
You went to the garage, vanished with your fears.
There’s a difference between giving space and cold shoulder,
Sometimes I need a hug, your love to hold closer.

Pampering me isn’t about gifts or gold,
But valuing my efforts, letting your love unfold.
Look after my welfare, see the work that I do,
A team in the home, it’s me and it’s you.

Remember the times you swept issues away?
Unspoken problems lead us astray.
Fixing the faucet, the shelf that might fall,
It’s these little things that mean most of all.

When I was harassed and you stayed still,
Defending with presence, that’s the real thrill.
Money’s not everything, a simple date can be grand,
It’s in the effort, the touch of your hand.

I know your upbringing didn’t teach you this part,
But we can learn together, hand in heart.
Let’s sweep out the issues, let’s talk and be true,
Are you ready, my love, to start something new?

© Ifedolapo Ogunniyi
2024

I remember the night when my world turned cold,
When you chose his arms over mine, left me to hold
The shadows of a childhood, broken and torn,
A daughter abandoned, a heart forlorn.

In our little house, the walls whispered pain,
Your love was a ghost, a faint, fleeting strain.
I watched from the doorway, a silent, small wraith,
As you slipped into darkness, forsaking your faith.

Your promises shattered, like glass on the floor,
Each piece cut my soul, left me yearning for more.
A mother’s embrace, a whisper, a song,
But you chased his shadows, and I was all wrong.

Years passed in silence, in shadows and fears,
My heart ached with longing, soaked with silent tears.
I grew in the darkness, where love doesn’t tread,
With dreams made of sorrow, and words left unsaid.

Then one fateful evening, the years brought us face,
Your eyes met my own in a cold, empty space.
You reached out in tremors, a ghost of regret,
But the wounds you had carved, they had not healed yet.

I spoke with a voice that trembled and shook,
Recounting the nights in the shadowy nook,
Where I waited and wondered, why I wasn’t enough,
Why his love was more, and mine was so tough.

I told you of nights when the silence would scream,
Of the tears that would fall, in an endless stream.
Of the dreams that were crushed, of the love that I craved,
Of the child you abandoned, the heart you enslaved.

You wept with the truth, in the cold, bitter air,
But the scars of the past, they were still there.
I forgave but remembered, as I turned to depart,
Leaving you with the echoes, of a long-broken heart.

In that moment of sorrow, of truth and despair,
You saw in my eyes, the life you laid bare.
A mother who lost, what she once chose to leave,
A daughter who found strength, in the ache and the grief.

So I walked away slowly, with tears in my eyes,
Leaving you in the shadows, with your silent goodbyes.
For I was the daughter, who survived through the pain,
And you were the mother, who lost more than she gained.

© Ifedolapo Ogunniyi
2024