Tag Archives: adversity

Hope’s Hope

Hold not to the regret of yesterday

Rather in steadfast measure,

Cling to the promise of tomorrow.

For what futility of purpose does it serve,

To descend immobile, into the abyss of remorse

Yearning for what was lost or has not been,

More despair, in the company of bleakness.

Shake off the miserable melancholy and reverse

That energy into earnest utility, and towards

The unbridled optimism within the sphere of hope.

 

Yemil Benjoy ©

 

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The Black Death Saga Continues …

Sadly, the life expectancy of the black man

In America…

May be a few seconds to a few minutes

After he encounters the unbridled callousness of some police officers

Who somehow believe that the execution, in their uniform, of the black man

Without affording that life, the benefit of the right to a fair trail or

To be adjudged guilty, let alone the right to live,

Before the immediate imposition of a death sentence,

Is theirs in wanton disregard to deliver, rather than to protect,

Like the white life  afforded all benefits in similar or worse circumstances.

Question  me not … black man, do not ask me why I want to arrest you

How dare you speak to me, who do you think you are, do not breathe,

Do not talk, you better not look me in the eyes

Be careful, your life is my hands and I will snuff it out

And will probably get away with killing you …

Alas in a few fleeting moments…

The tragic truth is that the black life ends…

 

YemilBenjoy ©

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Reflect Nigeria – Encumbered Inheritance

Yet, public servants owe an unequivocal fiduciary duty
To serve, unreservedly as custodians faithful to the people.
But alas, some elected to serve to advance the nation
In diabolical measure violate the essence of stewardship, in
Blatant unabashed indifference to the canons of democracy.

For they, with and in wanton disregard contravene principles
Of oath of office, constitution they are sworn to uphold,
All concepts of morality and fundamental human decency.
When as albatross, on the neck of the populace, and as
Fettered chains, shackle Nigerians, to a legacy of the
Profundity of their ineptitude and voracious gluttony for
The wealth belonging to the masses and not to those who
By virtue of unfortunate circumstance, swarm the corridors
Of infamy, masquerading as an assembly of legislators.

For if it is not but malicious greed, how, when the citizens
Endure the harsh reality of increasing maternal and child mortality,
Diminishing optimism and five decades is the life expectancy;
Can some conjure up the unconscionable scheme of
Looting the national coffers in billions to buy 120 vehicles, in
A country, in 2016 where, citizens are condemned to the
Caricature of public transportation in flimsy contraptions with
No protection on the death traps camouflaging as roads,
The constancy of electricity is but a figment of a mirage,
Flowing portable water is as elusive as the illusion of progress
And education is at desperate and contemptible levels,
Causing the citizenry to lament the protracted despoliation
That has taken malignant root within the boundaries.

Forsooth, if the legislative contingent, in most despicable
Manner, embark upon an reprehensible conspiracy to
Deplete the community’s treasury while further subjugating
The masses under the scourge of oppression, ensuing from
Their seeming confusion, that contemptuous exploitation
Equates the proper discharge of their obligation, and that by
A mere outcome of an election, a custodian transforms into
An Illegal heir apparent, committed as vagabond to plunder
In discordant and unfathomable magnitude the funds of all.
Then the disconsolate and downtrodden masses should in
Concord, demand accountability with commensurate
Incarceration for those who breach the public trust through
Pernicious foolery and as pestilence foist a plague of despair
Upon those, who clutching to the promise within the veneer
Of a representative government, conclude disheartened
That the core assurance in the ideals of a democratic society
Has been violently decimated by the squandered fidelity.

Thus, the citizenry inherently vested with ownership of the
Collective resources and in whom the unabridged power
Of self-governance resides should with vigilance expose
In unwavering tenor, all the shameless decadence of officials
And every treacherous plot threatening the viability of the
Nation’s livelihood, until a crescendo peaks unabated, to revive
Uncontaminated justice, to rise as a refuge for the common people.
Dated this 24th day of January, 2016.

© Dr. Yemisi Solanke Koya, Esq.
Golden Poet

 

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BenJoy’s Opinion – Biased Coverage of Gun Violence by NBC

Calling a spade a spade…

NBC did not respond to my e-mail and thus I share my opinion with you…

Dear NBC,

It was disheartening this morning while watching Meet the Press to see the distasteful and stereotypical approach regarding the portrayal of violence and use of firearms. NBC elected to broadcast the clip whether it was made on a staff person’s private time or not. Additionally, it was disturbing to watch the host try to explain without success, why the coverage about gun violence, his show aired, was totally biased. What does it have to do with whether he has never being pulled over in his car by the police.

Unfortunately, yet again, the coverage cast in a most prejudiced manner, showed only black men incarcerated speaking about their regrets concerning the use of guns during the commission of crimes. The most ironical aspect of the clip, is that it was aired in the wake of a white man killing nine black people.

Although at a societal level, it is laudable to cover the conversion of criminals, but the question that NBC must answer and communicate to its viewing public is whether that coverage was balanced or another occassion perpetuating the skewed societal view that only black men are violent, are in jail and use guns when that is an absolute departure from the truth. Are their other races other than blacks in jail, do other races use guns and do other races commit crimes. NBC, the incontrovertible answer is yes.

Why would NBC show that clip without making sure that it was balanced. NBC should evaluate the essence of its role in covering and broadcasting topical and all issues. What does the freedom of press allow the press on this specific and other matters, NBC. Is it the right to distort the news or to communicate the facts as they exist.

Furthermore, how does this type of disdainful coverage further the memory of Tim Russet. Would the unbalanced nature of the clip have evaded his scrutiny and when Eugene Robinson immediately brought it to his attention, would he in a nonchalant manner have dismissed the obvious without an unequivocal apology. The attempts of the current host afterwards during the show to handle the error were patronizing and failed abysmally.

An immediate apology from NBC is required, not in a week when the next episode of Meet The Press is broadcast. Also, NBC should evaluate its editorial  processes.

June 21, 2015

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Benjoy’s Corner X-10: Define You

If you are trying to shield yourself from what people

Will think or may say about your life’s journey…

Alas, it is nothing but an exercise in futility.

For we have no control over their actions or speech.

Rather expend that energy investing in you

And thrive and on the inherent possibilities.

YemilBenjoy ©

 

 

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Fear’s Intrusion (Part I)

Vicious is the apparatus of fear…

For it descends upon you with such awful might

Either in stealth manner or by insidious descent

Then in persistent measure seeks to erode, should one

Permit it to take permanent abode within one’s essence,

The body of hope that ought to propel each one

Into the absolute realm of possibility and beyond despair.

Reject the albatross!

YemilBenjoy ©

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Chibok Tragedy – The Evisceration of Hope (1)

Amid the darkness of the gloom

Nothing but despair abounds

In the wilderness of the arid

Drought of feigned existence,

Where no hope subsists,

Do the Chibok girls find

The extreme disillusionment

Of persistent hopelessness,

That one year and counting

All hope, has but evaporated into

The disintegrating dust of time,

To where existence is meaningless,

And has the ironical value of the unrelenting

Real and abiding grief of total bondage and servitude.

 

YemilBenjoy ©

 

 

 

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Contentment’s Motivation

Do not sacrifice the laurels you earned
Through hard work and sweat equity
For want of dreams that have not yet
Come to pass, rather treasure that
Which reflect the reward of your earnest
Effort, and use them without any reservation to
Motivate and propel you to the goal of enriching
Your gift of life and that of others, and therefrom
Find contentment, which in itself will supplant
The void of unrealized dreams with hope
Which in time will yield the bounty of peace.

 
YemilBenjoy ©

 

 

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MLK Day – Beyond A Holiday

Martin Luther King Day…

Causes the world to pause, albeit it

For a moment, to recall the sordid horror of

The atrocities that were unconscionably and

Violently perpetuated against a segment

Of humanity, just because they were endowed

With a darker hue by the Creator of the entire universe.

Further, the observance of the day, yet brings to mind

Those other fallen heroes, along the arduous cause towards

Justice and dignity for all, and their individual and

Collective sacrifice on the blood-stained altar for equality.

Alas, the unvarnished realization is that the quest, still incomplete,

Must again, be fiercely populated with sustained courage

To confront the disdainful  scourge of discrimination

Wherever it seeks refuge or finds habitation, to expose it

For unequivocal condemnation and ultimate eradication.

Therefore, arise citizens of the world and in diligent measure

Commit to and embrace the legacy and essence of the holiday.

 

YemilBenjoy ©

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Discard Disappointment

Do not let the disappointment of the moment
Linger too long with your soul, my friend …
Commit to discarding its woeful garment and
The propensity to overwhelm the spirit with despair.
Rather, seek within and around you that which uplifts
And in earnest measure find joy, and maximize to your
Own advantage, the treasures of the unique gift, of each day.

YemilBenjoy ©

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