Words And Whips - M H (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📗

PROLOGUE

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve come to realize there are two kinds of people, those who learn by experience & others by conversation.

I’d hoped for the latter, you?

 

(Paris, 2018)

CONTENT

 

 

 

SOUL

 

BODY

 

MIND

 

HEART

 

IF

 

 

(Abuja, 2017)

SOUL

 

 

If the yearning soul roams free,

is it fair to say you’re never at peace? 

 

(Istanbul, 2016)

 

If such is life,

why does sleeping become an escape for the soul?

 

If wishing stars didn’t fly,

would the magic stop the soul? 

 

If character sells a person,

why is beauty glorified? 

 

 

 

 

 

BODY

 

 

If your wish had eyes,

would it ever come & find you?

 

If the eyes stared hard enough,

would they see your misfortunes? 

 

If he had eyes like poison,

would you give him a chance?

 

If the eyes see much,

then surely the mind overthinks, no? 

 

If seeing him gives you butterflies,

are you really over him?

 

If you’d look carefully,

you'd see that direction is relative, no?

 

If Annie were blind,

would we lie in bovitz?

 

If the ears hear too much,

wont the mouth over-spill?

 

 

 

 

If trust had a smile,

would it leave a gap between the teeth?

 

If heaven saw you before your time,

would It be a smile or smirk?

 

If her/his smile makes your heart melt,

are you able to face another? 

 

If half bread is better than none,

why not take the heart that’s already broken?

 

If the survivor walked by,

would it be prayer or pity on your lips?

 

If money insists on buying happiness,

why do slum kids smile?

 

 

 

If whips leave scars,

where do Words live?

 

If the heart has to be broken to be open,

would you risk more?

 

If one’s company and two’s a crowd,

could that be loneliness ever is your friend?

 

If a vice can take one’s virtue,

can piety ease the void?

 

If family is life,

why live life for you?

 

If the world never left you blank,

would you ever pick up a pen?

 

If the words are written in black ink,

do they feel heavy?

 

If your words are harsh,

does the message get lost? 

 

 

 

MIND

 

If you could choose,

would you rather or rather not?

 

If you could choose,

would you dare to do it or speak your truth?

 

If you could choose,

would you reminisce or live in it?

 

-

 

If souls-a-searching,

can a compass truly find you a home?

 

If the mind always a-wander,

is lost your favorite place to be?

 

If you find the person you've been looking for,

what would you tell them? 

 

 

 

-

 

It “this too shall pass” truly passes,

why does it feel like time's frozen?

 

If really this too shall pass,

why does the best of your heart create the rhythm of the same name?

 

(Leicester, 2009)

 

 

 

 

HEART

 

 

If You’ve Ever Been In Love,

Does The Drug Ever Wear Out?

 

If You Are A Truly Romantic,

Do You Truly Have A Partner?

 

If You Ever Called Her Your Wife,

Would She Call You Her Witness?

 

 

(Atlanta, 2013)

 

If Love Doesn’t Cost A Thing,

Why Is Being Rich A Gold Diggers Ultimatum?

 

If Love Is For Life,

Why Is Life Not Filled With Love?

 

If Two’s A Crowd,

Why Share The Secret?

 

 

 

If Hate Is So Easy,

Why Is Love So Hard?

 

If Music Were Your Love Language,

What Hymn Would Be Playing?

 

If You Ever Had A Resort To Pick From,

Would You Pick Love Or Hate?

 

If Love Made The World Go Round,

Then Surely Hate Made The World Flat, Right? 

 

 

 

If Coffee Were A Lover,

What Would Tea Be? 

 

If You Ever Gave It Your All,

Will The Cup Ever Get Full?

 

(Amsterdam, 2011)

 If Fear Of Truth Came From Rejection,

Could New Love Soothe The Burn?

 

If Two Lovers’ Quarrel Never Ended,

Was There Ever Love To Begin With?

 

If I Could Take A Lover’s Burden,

Surely He Should Take My Cross On His Head, Right?

 

 

 

 

 

IF

 

 

If success had a price tag,

would you pay?

 

If the goal were in the clouds,

where would you aim for? 

 

If abject poverty means

choosing a meal a day,

does money matter become

a topic to debate on?

 

 

If death is certain,

is life really worth living? 

 

If life determines the worth of loving,

what justifies the wrath of dying?

 

If hell’s fire could cleanse,

then surely the smoke on earth can be exfoliating, right?

 

If doubt creeps, trust flips.

Would you trust your judgment? 

 

 

                                       

 

(Abuja, 2014) 

 

Is Age Truly Just A Number?

 

If only you knew more,

would you truly do better?

 

If the better you look

makes you appear better, 

then your worse shows

who you are apparently, yes?

 

 

                                           

 

If something tragic happens to you,

are you really the cause? 

 

If the sun didn’t shine in the morning,

would the moon be appreciated? 

 

If having a past deemed you doomed,

then your brightest future

is truly ahead of you, no?

 

 

EPILOGUE

 

 

 

 

This Is The Natural Progression For Humans

 

The Soul Knows

           The Body Arrives

                   The Mind Catches Up

 

 

(Exhale) Doubt, Stress, Fear

(Inhale) Peace, Hope, Love

 

 

(London, 2018)

 

NOTES

 

Here are some of the quotes & titles that motivated me to complete this book:

 

Malcolm Gladwell - “There is a direct correlation between effort and reward" Oprah Winfrey - “Your true passion should feel like breathing, it’s that natural" Audre Lorde - “Your silence will not protect you” F. S. Fitzgerald - "They were stars on this stage, each playing to an audience of two: the passion of their pretense created the actuality” A. Andullsh - “When you’re result-oriented, you forget about the process" Quran 94: Verse 6 - Fa Inna Ma Al Usri Yusra (Verily With Hardship Comes Ease) A. W - “If I had allowed my failures to hinder my enthusiasm, then I would have died long before you were born"