A Huge Vision

I've got a huge vision
But I've got bad sight
Been wearing glasses for a minute
One day, I might
Eventually go blind, nah I'm kidding
But blow the trumpet and fly the kite
A young man has a huge vision

And if one day, I lose that vision
May posterity forgive me for failing them
Till then, I'll stay reclined in this cushion
And think, I mean... plan, or just give credence
To the vision I have. No sight but a huge vision
Where's my father? I miss when you used to care.
What went wrong? Will you ever come back?
When?
Please come back. Hold my hand and lead me in the right direction
In the direction of my dreams, that huge vision

Everyone wants to change the world
Not me. I want this world to change me.
They found me like this. Now I need a twirl
Twirl my hair or shave my eyebrows, whatever, just change me
Make my looks perfect, fix my sight, and give me wealth
Change me.
This world can take credit for my transformation
But never forget, I had a huge vision

Can I Talk?

Don't say it twice, I know
Yeah, I know my ego is super-sized
What do you expect from a young guy that knows he's about to blow
I hope I don't sound like my upbringing wasn't supervised
I'm a good kid, in a mad city, shoulders slumped, head down, walking slow
But that was years ago when I considered suicide
Now, I smile, hold my shoulders high, bare-feet running on hot coal
Now, I examine my every thought, every next move scrutinized

The difference between the past and today
The past was rough and suicidal
I prayed a lot and knew there was no way
The past could be in harmony with the future. They're rivals.
So I smile when I look back
Those days were bleak
Struggle days, all the necessities I used to lack
These days are much better, cozy bed, the roof doesn't leak
Not even successful yet, I'm on the brink
I know I'll blow, there's never a doubt
A toast to that foreseen greatness, let's drink
Good night, when the sun comes up, we'll be up and about.

The Sun Is Up, The Son Is Up.

The sun is up
The son is up
Today's no different
I'm in a limbo
To live simply
Or to Hope for a life that's
unbelievably twee?
Hmm...
They say Africans live in trees
Such insanity; comparing us to monkeys
Don't believe that notion
We're The New Black
Priceless, our ambition
Proud of our colour, we don't want to bleach, keep your bottles of lotion

The sun is up
The son is up
Hold me back
I'm out to grab
To grab what's mine
I mean, what's yours
But which would be mine in no time
I'm greedy but then again, who's not?
Most of you got rich as a result of the others you shot
Ain't that how it is?
Kill another and take his spot?

The sun is up
The son is up
It's a new day
No thoughts of yesterday
I wanted to grab what's yours
But now, I contemplate
My thoughts clouded by feelings of guilt
Pause...
Why take something that's not yours?
Upwards to the heavens, my head and eyes tilt
My resolution is brief and swift

The sun is up
The son is up
Today's different
I won't be swayed by evil
I won't be confused
I don't want to be like the sun
That gives way for clouds to take over
I'm enthused
The calm has returned; I'm sober
I've made a decision
To be a better man
I'm made of black
And I won't choose the ways of the dark
The sun is up
And I'm not asleep
I'm working, grinding, hustling
All on a daily
To provide for me
To provide for my family

MY GREATEST FEAR

I’m scared
Yes I’m scared
What does the future hold, I keep asking myself
On cautious and ambitious grounds, I tread
Ambitious? Yes please, I am
Tag along my brothers, hold my arm
We shouldn’t grow and remain poor
Let’s work hard, let’s sweat
Let sweat emanate from our skins’ pores
See…
My greatest fear is to grow up and not be able to say “I made it.”
Who wants to come of age
And have no property to his name?
No, not me.  I‘ll make it
I don’t plan to be richer than Hov
No, “may the idols never be your rivals”
Cooking up my ambitions, albeit not on a stove
Keep your good name and keep your titles
Just give me money, that’s all I ask
“Good name is better than riches,” that’s some crap
Hold your applause if you relate
My next words should spark a debate
Tell me now- what’s your greatest fear?
Oh, you’ve never thought about It?
That’s for you to contemplate.

UNLUCKY LUCK

For seven seconds, my heart stopped
I still wonder why I never dropped "What am I seeing?" I thought
For perfect words, I sought
To describe the spectacle that stood
Before me in all glory and elegance
This gorgeous piece of art was in its natural state, albeit not crude
I admit that I was highly privileged with that chance
To have seen such beauty with my 'naked eyes'
I still wonder how she would look naked... yikes!
That sight would be heavenly
On my mind, that image would weigh heavily
I don't even want to imagine
Might have been a dragon in human flesh
Does this highlight the rarity of such beauty?

Her eyes told a story
Florence Colgate, Britain's prettiest face, has nothing on her
She was prettier than you all, sorry
Her hair...
Her hair shone against the bright light that emanated from the sun.
I'm pretty sure that was a $920 light brown hair, man.
Beyonce's stylists would beg for tips.
That reminds me of her lips.
She wore no makeup, no lip gloss
In that natural state, most ladies would look gross
Full red lips, kissable by all standards.
That completed a face that I'm sure took more than a day, God time; creation story standards
to create.
Her body shape...
Wait.
For her face, we skipped her nose and ears
God knows, for that description, it would take years
l leaned back and took in her beauty
Her body shape was crazy
Just as I couldn't open my mouth to speak then
Same way I can't begin to describe it with my pen
I should stop
Yup, I should pause.

As I stood watching her, she smiled and... oh, that was a wave
This time my heart didn't stop
I felt a series of shock waves
"Oh damn, I root seff!"
Samini's 'bang bang bang' started playing in that subconscious area of my brain's turf
Ah, was I refusing to think with my head? Or was my brain anticipating some head?
The realistic part of my brain barged into the sexual section of my brain's fort
And fought to alleviate the intensity of the erotic thought
Finally, I shook it off
When my eyes came to, she was gone
Into shreds, my heart was torn
I wondered why she left so soon
Light from the overhead bulb filled the room
"Time to wake up son,
Time waits for no man,"
That was my mother
I shivered and felt a shudder
Had the beauty I had seen
Just moments ago been a dream?
"I'll be down in a jiffy,"
I told my mom weakly
I threw back the covers
And put on a pair of trousers
"Tonight," I swore with a chest thump
"This dream must continue..."
I exited the room and left the door shut with a dull thud.

Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady

November, December... I think it was in November that I met this pretty damsel. Actually, my friend, Rasheed Mohammed, was supposed to meet her but by sheer accident, and the fact that he chickened out at the last moment, the gods displayed their prettiest smile on my ugly face. Thinking back on that issue, I’m pretty sure whoever coined the phrase ‘faint heart never won fair lady’ several years ago had some form of precognitive skill. I’m guessing he or she had a precognition of what my friend would do in 2013 to have been able to come up with such a special idiom. 

Being an idiom, ‘faint heart never won fair lady’ actually means that ‘timidity would prevent you from achieving your objective’. This makes lots of sense but as my thoughts have always been shallow, I wouldn’t bother looking beyond what the phrase says in itself- faint heart never won fair lady.

Apart from being brave enough to help the then Gold Coast gain independence from its Colonial Master, the first President of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was also brave enough to marry Fathia Nkrumah, a fair Egyptian, even though her mother disagreed vehemently with this arrangement.

 
Hip hop icon, Kanye West is also married to a fair lady; Kim Kardashian. You and I know about her sex tape saga with singer, Ray J, and the fact that most people do not like her lifestyle, but hey, Kanye has a brave heart. He went ahead to win the fair lady against all the negative vibe from around.

What actually baffles me is the fact that the bravest of all hearts, Jerry John Rawlings is not married to a fair lady. I mean.. this was a man who was involved in two successful coups d’état. There is none braver. Maybe he settled for a dark-skinned woman because he is a fair man. ‘Black is beautiful’, they say. Maybe he loved a fair lady but could not have her. It’s anyone’s guess, really.

Wait; let me quickly tell you what my friend, Rasheed Mohammed, did before most of you barge into my private circle demanding to know what happened... A couple of friends and I, after quite a hectic day of presentation at lectures, took seats at the cafeteria to relieve stress and quench  our thirsts with bottles of soft drink. Soon, conversation between us -ranging from who was the finest footballer on the planet, who was the best between Eminem and Jay Z, to whom among us had the best taste in women- raged on. Then, then...  a fairly young fair lady walked into the cafeteria. Upon seeing her gliding in, the silence that fell on us was loud enough to resurrect Michael Jackson. We were speechless. Man, any attempt to describe her beauty might inadvertently not appreciate her enough, making room for flaws that do not exist. I wish you had been there to see my friend, Jorio’s open mouth. My glasses were perched on my nose watching the lady’s every move. Rasheed was the first to come back to earth. The knock he gave Chinedu, who was still transfixed, watching the lady still remains a bone of contention between they both. Lowering his voice, Rasheed told us about how he had noticed this same lady a few weeks earlier and how he was crushing on her, blah, blah... Well, the lady bought a bottle of coke and proceeded to step out. Precisely at that moment, another friend of ours, Ranny Bella, was entering to join us. Quickly, Rasheed signalled him to call the fair lady for him. All eyes around the table turned to look at her as she approached with elegant strides. She got to our table, looked at Rasheed and all he could do was to point at me, signifying that I had called her. She turned to me with quizzical eyes and my heart stopped for 7 seconds. I just hoped my face hadn’t turned red from embarrassment as I struggled to regain composure. “H-h-hi,” I managed to stammer. Calmly, and with a coy smile, she replied “hello”. I guess she sensed my discomfort and wanted to make things easier for me. I don’t remember half of what I said to her that day, but I ended up taking her phone number and things have worked out for the both of us since then. Rasheed’s faint heart couldn’t win the fair lady. Guess whose brave heart won this fair lady?

THEY DON'T LOVE US

What? You think they love us?
Can’t you see how they treat us?
Who works from nine to five?
Who then drives the flashy cars?
Who gets home tired at night?
Wait. Who even joins the queue?
To vote for these leaders
In their bid to become the pillars?
They sit front row in the pew
In the house of the Lord
The builders sit at the back
Like canned fish, they are packed
What can they do?
Who can they trust?
They realize my words are true
They don’t love us!

What? You think they love us?
They eat the better part of the loaf and feed us with crusts
Even lecturers would teach a+b
But in the exam, present a-x
Making you feel handicapped
Like Barca - no plan B
Everyone, perhaps, minus your ex,
Thinks they have an opinion in your life

Your career choice truck, they want to drive
Reading a course that you don't like?
Didn't you want to be a musician at age nine?
Your parents disagreed vehemently, in spite
of the potential they recognized even at first sight
What can you do? You always end your day with a sigh
In my words, should you trust
They don't love us!

What? You think I love you?
Do you even have time for your notes?
Yet, on this page, is none other than you
Reading a seemingly unending stuff that you already know
I've just hurt your ego? Haha, I know
Let's just end this before you click the red button- close
If you didn't know
Now you know
Only in your creator should you trust
They don't love us!