What makes a good neighbor?

Not walls of partition but

works of compassion,

Not fence of great heights but

friendship with gratitude,

As we live in charity, love and

compassion towards one another.

However our world is not so.

Hate in the neighborhood spreads

like wildfire,

Brother against brother on

things that matter less,

Men against women because

of superiority claim,

Nation against nation just

because of the mondanes

we literally make the would

a war zone,

and fellow humans the spoil thereby.

How then can we adopt

good neighborhood,

We cannot give hatred and

expect love,

We make good neighbor by

selfless service,

No preference, no prejudice

we see all as one,

In humility we share,

in patience we cope,

bearing in mind our

differences in thought,

belief, ideology and philosophy,

We make tolerance our

choicest gospel,

We love without dissimulation,

In the spirit of egalitarianism

we treat every one equally,

Preferring one another.

Giving to hospitality and generosity,

Not taking advantage of

the less privileged at the

corridor of exploitation,

Adopting choice of words

that heals the hearts of the

hearers, not the ones that

stears up revolt and contention,

A lifestyle of honesty and

transparency in

communal matters,

Then our local and global

neighbors will reciprocate

in peaceful accord.

Arrogance and egocentrism

will be put jailed in the

prison of forgetfulness,

And the corners of our world

will know peace.

What could you try for the first time?

Bringing them to the table

of dialogue,

Persuading their eyes to see

their terror,

Being unleashed on

innocent minds,

I mean the victims of war

in the Eurasia,

With glad heart will I welcome

the prince of Russia to sit

next to that of Ukraine,

At the same table would I will

invite the emperor of Hamas

as well as the most noble

Rabi of the Israeli,

That we might share our differences,

And reach a reasonable compromise,

We must end this flow of blood,

Our rivers are becoming red,

Lifeless bones are too many

on our streets,

Widows and orphans are

on the multiplying side

of our equations,

Orphanage homes no longer

admit new intakes,

This war must stop.

Weapons of war need to rest,

Least we put our populace

in jeopardy,

And our cities turned to hills of

dead bones,

That we might reason together,

That we might swallow our prides

and bury our arrogance,

Not everyone is blessed with

private jet,

To fly away with families and

friends to corridors of peace,

Why should we hide our own

loved ones in safety and put

the lives of the vulnerable at

jeopardy of war,

Why?

We must stop this madness

before it turned against our

household with full force.

This war must stop.

I will and again try to call the

gladiators of war to table

of dialogue

I will not mind if it fails.

What principles define how you live?

Contentment, though not woo

by too many,

but it’s best companion

that prevents my

thoughts from unhealthy

comparison.

Self-discipline, very hard to

be maintained

as a close ally, but here I keep

it close to

heart so I can be freed

from frivolity.

Honesty, it is well appreciated

when it’s

favours the world, but if other

way round, the

world frowns at it. Yet will I

not trade it

for gold.

Charity for humanity irrespective

of what

you are, who you are or where

you are, so long you are human,

you win my heart within

my capacity

Principles are the true definition

of human character, they reveal

a great deal of us even when

we tend to hide. They are like

perfume of an uncommon

flagrance, you cannot spray

it and hide it odour.

What have you been putting off doing? Why?

Pointing at the opposite windows

With little or no enquiry,

As dust of contention is raised,

pandemonium clouded our space,

And conflict roars as thunderous

sounds of many waters

Lives of the innocent are

placed on the line,

As boisterous accusation flies

through the airs

Like albatross, accusations fly

from shore to shore,

None is willing to accept

responsibility,

How will our world sleep with

two eyes closed,

And peace reigns from

shores to shores,

Oh how I pounder in wandering,

Considering a life void

of accusation,

We might not be abreast

with the reasons behind all

actions from across,

It is better to enquire before

pointing fingers,

Wars will be averted as we

observe in diligence,

In common matters not

alien to men,

I am tied of accusing others,

I better work on my

tolerance and temperament,

If for the peace I might

swallow my pride,

As accusation precedes

contention and war.

When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

Even when I do not feel cracking

expansions of my cavities,

Daily responsibility tells me,

am not the same,

Meeting with the needs of wife,

children and acquaintances

Reminds me of not being the same

as I was yesterday,

Growth comes with responsibilities,

Challenges and tasks that

define the age,

We run daily to bring needs

to the table,

Our quest for satisfaction

increases by the day.

Years and increase in our

body composition reminds us,

Then the consciousness of reality

Bends us the more by

our daily tasks,

Not because we literally want

to die in toilings

But because our growth is

defined by our responsibility.

The feeling of growth is inherent

not only in humans,

Even the animals in the

wild felt the same.

Feelings of growth is daily

in this quarters,

As we daily contend for

life’s necessities.

If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

What a fortune to build a fortune,

Not for self, relatives or friends,

Just a smile on the destitute in

the neighborhood,

It will go a long way in my

own currency.

Not just a give away bonanza

like father Christmas,

Carefully selecting the gifted

hands and minds,

To train them for the future

global challenge

That they might be the solution

we desire for our world.

To reduce the potential numbers

of criminals on our street,

And to develop future capacity

of an egalitarian society.

A million dollars will go a

long way,

To fix the broken edges of

a decayed society,

If only it can be carefully tailored

to the path of the vulnerable,

To bring them to the realities

of their fantasies,

And to make them an integral

part of the societal wagon to

the promise land.

What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.

I will call the minds around the

globe together

In a summit where peace

reigns as king,

Not the representatives of woe

this time around,

But everyone representing

his/her conscience,

Not for jamboree neither for

frivolous partying,

But for matters that affects

everyone on this planet.

A congregation of sober

reflection will I call,

To sign a peace accord

without pretence,

To end the endless human

induced calamities that

wrecked us

To filed out the perpetrators

of evils amongst us,

And to pronounce a just

retribution on them, according

to the magnitude of their evils,

I will persuade the world to

end all conglomerate bodies,

That defraud many to profit little,

All pretentious organizations

will be dissolved,

And a new charter that is

predicated on selfless

sacrifice for humanity

will be drawn,

No prejudice, no nepotism,

no racism and no sectionalism,

No Suprematist, no children

of the lesser god,

All will be treated as human

and all will be accorded a

uniform dignifying respect,

Our differences will be

preserved and respected,

No marginalization and

no segregation,

All human will leave the summit

with an egalitarian mindset,

That our world is no more

an animal farm,

As painted by George Orwell,

in his prolific prose that

reflect the leadership of our age.

I will attempt making the world

safe and homely for everyone.

What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?

It was a passion driven scene,

As I consider the limitations at the

balcony of needs,

Every options looks impenetrable,

But unwearied pursuit says no.

It might looks so simple in the

other world,

But here, it is honeycombs at

the edge of a cliff,

For a son of a deserted

poor woman,

To aim at scaling the cost

of the higher education,

That was my hardest personal goal.

Though poor and deserted, with

no regular source of income,

Yet she defied all odds to fix

her helpless son in school,

Men thought it’s stupidity on

the part of my mother,

Some said, leave him to

wander the street,

He is a boy, he can survive

on his own,

But the mind of a resolute woman

is harder than the batholith,

She will not quit pressing hard.

We put on cheapest of clothes

to cover our nakedness,

We eat like ants to sustain the body,

But we appeared in school with

bag full of new textbooks

and complete writing materials,

Classmates wondered how,

The uniform and the bag

looked tattered but the

contents in the bag are brand new,

The answer was not too far-fetched,

It is resolution and determination

to succeed despite all odds.

We despised our shame to hit the goal,

We mortified self to reach

the unreachable,

We disciplined our belly

to enrich our minds.

Uneasy lies the head that

wears a crown,

That was the summary of the journey,

The goal of my academic pursuit

looks so hard and unrealistic,

But with a resolute mother and

my personal determination,

Scored the goal.

I came, I saw and I conquered.

Though my poor mother passed

on few years back,

But her tenacious resolution still

stands as an unbroken cord of legacy,

That will spine through her

generations yet unborn.

Personal goals are self projections

into the unseen,

Many at times, we seem not

to know the magnitude of

the required, before we plunge

into the process for achievement,

It only takes our resolute

minds to continue.

Hinging on the proverbial

words that states:

“when the going gets tough,

the tough gets going”.

No meaningful goal comes easy,

Achievement in life is preceded

by roaring and storming challenges,

But determination gets us covered,

Till we are made revealed on

the gallery of success,

Where tears comes with joy,

Where cracked bones

are rejuvenated,

And where feathers

decorates our headgears.

I draw the cotton on today’s

prompt by saying,

Meaningful goals are only

achievable, provided the mind

is shielded with determination,

resolution, perseverance

and an unflinching focus

no matter what.

Who are your favorite artists?

It was an august visitor,

A baby boy just came from

the blues,

We never knew his impact

will run through ages,

Never has it crossed our minds

that he will leave too soon,

Jim my favorites artist,

Why did you left the

stage unannounced,

Your unborn fans love

to shake your hand,

But your plane left the port

before we arrive this shore.

August, 1923 we hope you

will span through 2023,

Not even a halfway you

travelled and never come bye,

It was a day the cloud sheds

uncontrollable tears,

A music icon just hit the rock,

As the headlines exclaimed.

July 31st, 1964 was too cruel,

You committed my favorite artist

to the shilly hands of death,

I don’t know maybe to forgive you,

Oh July 31st, that swallowed

two of my hearty friend,

Jim and Ayodele, I will forever

remember you both.

This world is not my home,

a worthy rendition of Jim,

that draws us

closer to the reality of heaven.

Take my hands, precious Lord,

this reveals human helpless state

and the helping hands of divinity.

It is no secret… shows

the possibilities of God in doing

all things for everyone.

Whispering hope.. reassures

a glimpse of hope that whispers.

We thank Thee,… a show

of sincere gratitude to the

Maker of all.

Across the bridge.. a lyric

that describes the grandeur

of bliss on the other

side of eternity.

I’d rather have Jesus…. imbibes

in us Jesus as all in all

we must have.

Have Thine own way, Lord…..

implants in us why we should

follow God’s own way.

I’ll fly away….. this is so deep,

because Jim really flied

away home!

We will all fly away one day,

but how prepared are you.

When the shilly hands of death

touch your brow and the breath

ceases from your nostril,

how prepared are you to fly away.

Jim Reeves, my evergreen

favorite artist, sleep on!