They may assail your being…
Take all your earthly possessions.
Unjustly curtail one’s liberty
Confiscate all they think you own
And trample on one’s humanity
Even unto the cessation of mortal life.
Yet, they cannot even if they try
Touch the Almighty God and Creator
Who provides the divine assurance
Of Eternal bliss, even if they try.
Thus in all matters, rely completely on
He who is greater than greatness, and
The generous benefactor of all grace.
YemilBenjoy ©
Filed under Life
When courage’s conviction visits thy habitation
Will thou in earnest, welcome and adopt it fully,
Or will thou dismiss its valiant entreaties, to stand
Ramrod under its auspices, for its just and fearless cause.
Courage precipitates the flourish of advanced audacity.
Thus, imbibe its virtue, don it ardently as shield and sword.
As shield, to proceed valiantly when its essence is required,
Or to protect you, from the putrid tempest of ugly repression
When eventually you are counted amid the virtuous assembly.
As sword, will you deliver from the pulpit of righteous indignation,
Rendition, powerfully piercing through the cloak of brutality, to
Challenge the venomous sting of atrocity spearing tormented souls.
Tarry not, courage still beckons to all, zealously seek to embrace it,
To its fullest dimension, and emboldened by it, confront that which
Is intent on destroying all that is of positive measure in humanity.
YemilBenjoy ©
Filed under Life
Where lieth the true essence of wisdom.
Does it just accompany the chronology of age
Simply because the years turn into decades of life.
Is it found through one existence defining experience
Or amid the multitude of challenges encountered during
The phases shaping the course of our fragile mortality.
Is it manifest in considered circumspection, probably
Applied in varying degrees to ensuing circumstance and events.
Is it the unique province of a few who then impart it wisely
As revered sages to the expectant seeking its solemn direction.
Or is it a derivative of the collective thoughts, then spoken, or woven
Into bound volumes of scholarly accounts for the edification of many.
Could it be, that it is encountered in the calm solitude of the walk
Through the parks and gardens of contemplation, or arises from
Deep within the routine of the communing with the supreme being.
Possibly, it may reveal itself in one of or a combination of these.
Yet, the one who finds wisdom should guard it utmost jealously
For in its midst, is contained the invaluable compass to navigate life.
Thus, irrespective of where its imprints are encountered,
When indeed in its time, it attends to your discernment
And commands by its very stature one’s rapt attention
Court it fully, and abide wholeheartedly by its doctrines.
With astuteness, hold firm to its priceless undeniable virtues
To guide your judgement, utterances and all undertakings.
That its essence, may steadfastly illuminate your course
With its sagacious attributes to your enduring benefit.
YemilBenjoy ©
Filed under Life
Will you hear me when I call for help for anyone in need
Or will you elect to ignore the cries and ardent pleas.
Will you heed the sobbing or wailing in the night
Or in content, drown them in feigned oblivion or indifference.
Will you walk away when affliction confronts others
Convincing yourself, that someone else somewhere else
Will in your stead, seek to rescue the sorely oppressed
And downtrodden masses, trapped under evil’s albatross.
Will you close your eyes to all the aggravated suffering
That beckons loudly for necessary and sustained intervention,
Till no solace is offered to neither nations or hapless souls
And all civility is obliterated from the course of humanity, then
The unconscionable, thriving reigns wantonly and supreme
While decency itself is subjugated amid complete despair
Till you, then look around for urgent help for yourself, and
Find, all figment of lost hope, lying conquered and entombed
Within the ruins of decency, and none can no longer rise
To your rescue or dare stand to extend any measure of relief.
YemilBenjoy ©
Filed under Life
The fact that the gender that bears and brings forth humanity
Is often treated with unveiled disdain and repugnant brutality
Truly, is an irreconcilable absurdity of the human existence.
Save our girls!
YemilBenjoy ©
Filed under Life
This post is specifically written to
Acknowledge everyone for all the likes and for following my blog.
Although, we may live in different places in this great universe
And each embark on our separate and unique life journey,
Thank you very much for taking the time
To read my posts and I hope we can remain
Connected by words…
Thank you and stay tuned.
YemilBenjoy©
Filed under Life
Is an inalienable right of every human being.
Not simply because it is reinforced in documents
Or exalted by the pedestal of conscience and morality.
No, the right exists for all humanity, every one.
Even if it is not committed to writing.
And contained within the essence of that right,
Is indeed the right to pursue one’s dreams
To the magnitude of their possibilities
Irrespective of one’s gender, and this right
Extends to all, including all young girls
Innocently pursing their dreams amid
The seemingly innocent halls of their school.
Save our girls.
YemilBenjoy ©
Thus, all girls like the rest of humanity
Are entitled to live their lives
And to pursue their own dreams
Without
Filed under Life
Although this is a fictional narrative, sadly it is to convey what an abducted girl in captivity may write:
Mr. President,
I had to abruptly stop writing the other day because I heard one of the captors coming and if they had found me writing they would have beaten me mercilessly to the point of death like my best friend. I miss her, my sister and everyone I love. I try to remember their faces so that I never forget them. I can only write this letter because I had a notebook and pen with me when we were abducted. We take turn hiding the items so that they are not found.
This letter gives us a dim flicker of hope that you will send troops to rescue us from this quagmire. It seems that we will never be rescued. The captors laugh at us. They laugh at our nakedness, tell us we are worthless and will be sold as sex slaves. It is just so awful to hear and contemplate. They tell us that our government does not care about us and will not rescue us, and that even if the government tried, they will not be able to rescue us. Is this true? For if it is, that is nothing but damnation for us. For we are damned by the acts of the foreseeable abduction, that was not prevented, and the failure to rescue us, to a wretched existence of shame, torture, ridicule, bondage and repeated violation. If you will not or cannot rescue us, have you asked other countries that can rescue us to save us from this cursed forest.
Words cannot adequately describe the depth of my despair nor convey the feeling of helplessness at being violently uprooted from the foundation of my life. It is a state of complete desperation. I am deathly afraid. I have not seen my mother’s smile nor heard my father’s voice in weeks, let alone the streets of my community or the sunset over my home. Why? I know that my grandmother wears her black garment of lamentation to mourn for me. Yet I am not dead. Alas, the pathetic irony is that I may be alive, yet I am not living. How could this happen to me, all because I am girl who went to school in Chibok. I miss my life.
It is another forsaken day in captivity. It is raining again and there is minimal shelter. We sit huddled together and dare not express our real feelings or we will feel the cold ends of the guns against our heads. We wait silently for the sun to come out to dry our skin and our clothes. I no longer like the sound of rain. I tried to cry but no tears came. I tried to console another girl who does not speak any more but no words came forth, so I hold her hand and it is very cold. When will this suffering end? Will it ever end?
I wonder, is it right that some men because they have power over vulnerable school girls, can change the course of our lives, sending us to premature deaths and selling us into slavery. Why are we the scapegoats and sacrificial lambs at the altar of anarchy and depravity? They boast. They say that they are more powerful than ever. They plan more bombings and kidnappings.
I must stop again. Save us please.
Fictional story to be continued – Chibox and now Dapchi Girls
YemilBenjoy ©
Filed under Life
Although this is a fictional narrative, sadly it is to convey what an abducted girl in captivity may write:
Mr. President,
Do you know that my sister and I were among some of the girls kidnapped from our beds at our school in Chibok and now Dapchi, Nigeria? I now live in a constant state of terror, not knowing what will happen to me next. I am completely devastated that my life as I knew it is over and live in horror that I may never see my family again. I detest what my life has become. I am helpless and unable to protect myself or my fellow captives. My younger sister was also taken that ill-fated day and I have not seen her since then. As her older sister, I shudder to think that she is also going through what I am suffering. I weep for her. I weep for myself. I weep for all the captives. I weep for my parents and over the abhorrent situation that we have been thrust into. I am worried about my parents. Have you spoken to them?
My best friend was killed on the first day of our abduction. They caught her as she was trying to run back to freedom. She died from the beating. I still hear her screaming. Since she died, I have been very scared to run away because I don’t want to die trying to escape but I don’t want to live as a slave. Which is the viable abyss? The two options are hell on earth.
I once had a dream to become a doctor so that I could help my community deal with diseases and take care of the sick. Did I dream in vain because I am Nigerian girl living in Chibok? Will that dream ever be revived? In captivity, we know no peace. We have no privacy, little to eat or drink. We no longer sleep in beds. There are no bathrooms, we have no soap and are no longer able to bath daily. Guns are pointed at our faces and at our heads. We are constantly threatened with death and bodily harm. We have forgotten the sound of laughter and they make us do the most unspeakable things. Please save us from this insanity.
At school, in one of my classes we read the Oath of Office of the Nigerian President. I recall that it includes the following:
“ I do solemnly swear and affirm … that in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, … and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria. So help me God”.
If that is the case, why am I here? Why have we not been rescued after several weeks? Why was my school not protected? Why have we been raped? Why are we being sold like valueless commodities on the ignominious market square of slave trade. Will we ever be rescued? We are powerless and exist at the mercy of our captors and slave masters and need to be rescued. Please do not forget us.
I must stop now because I hear someone coming…
Fictional story to be continued.
YemilBenjoy ©
Filed under Life
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