Hey You September!

 

Hey you September,

How beautiful you are, you bearer of good news!

And your fragrance, how heavenly!

You are altogether comely,

Pleasant and delightful.

You are all green with benefits for me,

Each day in you is fair and graceful.

Every second in you is like the honeycomb,

Oozing sweet, sweet honey unto me.

How shall I not rejoice in you, dear September? --

You who fan into flame dying embers --

Bringing forth into reality long conceived dreams!

Welcome September,

I am loving you already,

'Cause I know we shall have a jolly ride together.

I believe, and so I speak!

© September 2020, Ayobami Temitope Kehinde

THE POT IS ON FIRE

The pot is on fire,

Inside it is a soup

That promises to be yummy.

I saw her through the corner of my eye,

Ladle in hand, hurrying to the hearth.

“What are you trying to do, Lápé?!” I screamed.

“Wait for the soup to be done,

Leave the ladle be,

Else you drink a soup half-cooked

And end up with a racing stomach.”

©August 2020, Ayobami Temitope Kehinde

Stop It! It Hurts!

You are not superior because you are white.

I am not inferior because I am black.

What determines our skin colour is the level of melanin present.

And considering the benefits of being rich in melanin,

It will even be logical to say blacks are superior.

But hey, the presence or lack of melanin is not a determinant of class.

We all bleed red, whether white or black, brown, yellow or red.

We all shed salty tears.

We all fart.

We all poo.

We all wee.

We all spit.

We all secrete phlegm.

We all secrete mucus.

We all laugh.

We all get frightened.

We all feel different emotions.

We all fall sick.

We all die.

So, you see,

You are not superior to me

Neither am I to you.

I am not exceptional to be intelligent because I am black,

There are even many in my race that are more intelligent.

Listen,

As you have dumb and intelligent people in your race

So do we in mine.

As you have bad and good people in your race

So do we in mine.

Your race is not better than mine,

We are all equally human.

Being white doesn’t make you more intelligent

And being black doesn’t make me less intelligent.

So,

Stop the foolishness,

Stop the wickedness,

Stop the prejudice,

Stop racism,

’Cause it hurts. 

Treat people as people,

Treat people as individuals.

Address people’s faults for what they are,

Not making their punishment extra because of their colour.

And, 

Stop the stereotype!

Stop it!

It hurts!

©June 2020, Ayobami Temitope Kehinde

BECAUSE OF YOU

Because of you,
He endured that humiliating and terrible scourging on His back.
He had you on His mind and saw that very undesirable moment you are in now.

Because of you,
He bore the piercing of the sharp thorns on His head.
He had you on His mind and saw those foolish steps that led you to where you are now.

Because of you,
He, despite indescribable pains, carried His cross and fell under it, getting crushed.
He had you on His mind and saw that very sinful life you are living now.

Because of you,
Wicked nails were drawn though His hands and feet.
He endured the mockery and the abuse.
And by His stripes you have been healed.

Come to Him today,
Don't delay anymore.
For even if your sin is as scarlet,
He will make you as white as snow.
Run quickly to the mercy seat,
He took your condemnation upon Himself in His suffering.
You only have to accept this fact and let Him help you.


© 2017, Ayobami Temitope Kehinde

Blaze, Spirit, Blaze

Blaze, Spirit, blaze.
Burn with Your fire
All that should be consumed.

Blow, Spirit, blow.
Shake the heavens,
Shake the earth.

Rule, Spirit, rule.
Take charge of our lives
So You will be glorified.

Rain, Spirit, rain.
Refresh our lives,
Bring our dead back to life.

Shine, Spirit, shine.
You glow in the darkness
And it cannot comprehend You.

©2019, Ayobami Temitope Kehinde

TO BE ME

Just want to be me,
Nothing more.

(To be like the beautiful flower
Which just blossoms
without beefing the next flower.
Like the star which keeps shining in its own unique glory
Amidst other stars,
Happy and contented that its Maker knows and calls it by name.)

That is all I want,
To be and remain me.

©2017, Ayobami Temitope Kehinde

I WILL KEEP STANDING

I will keep standing on Your promises, which are true, to fight the lies of the devil which appear true.
I will not give up.

Though Satan attacks or any of his wards,
I will still be confident,
Because Your promises are yes and amen,
even when they appear untrue.

I will no longer let the fear of the enemy drive me,
I will rather be driven by the truth of Your words,
Scorning the foe and resisting his whims.
I know and I am sure that greater are You that live in me than the spirit who lives in the world.

But even if I am sore afraid and scared,
I will tell You my fears and worries,
while I wait on You to quieten me with Your love.

©2017, Ayobami Temitope Kehinde