The strong tides of life have swept me off my feet,
Now I am drowned in the ocean of misery life has dumped me in,
A fog of hopelessness clouds my face,
My heart has become heavy like a million-pound metal,
Seated at the bottom of the ocean,
A smile found its way to my face only ages ago
Yet I yearn and pray for these smiles to come again
But a frown has been engraved on my face for too long,
My reddened eyes have seen the rainy seasons
They aren’t afraid to see the dry seasons,
My cheeks with my tears
My nose is the endless stream of mucus,
My mouth is filled with songs of lament,
My knees are bruised from my incessant praying,
Let a passing angel throw upon my face a smile,
A feather would wonder why it is heavier than my heart
A passing angel comes that night,
Scintillates my room, whispers the secret to my sleepy head,
For as long as I stamp smiles on the faces of those around me
I shall be cured of my miseries with smiles.
Read – The Curved Lips – A Poem by Abdullatif Khalid – Uganda
—
Muheez Olawale is a Nigerian writer whose restless pen bathes in inky oceans of eloquence. He is currently chasing a B.A. degree in English Language at Lagos State University and was second place in the tertiary poetry category of the 2023 NIMC Identity Day Competition. His works have appeared in journals like The Muse Journal and Words-Empire.