Life's Voyage
Adulthood & The Unknown
A. C. E. Otakpor
Copyright © 2015 A. C. E. Otakpor
All rights reserved.
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Contents
Stage 1: Adulthood
A child is born
A “thank you” to the man of the house
Between husband and wife
Communication
Decision making
Divorce
Do not fear failure
Drugs and alcohol
Fear
I am your reassurance
Independence
Jealousy
Life in the house
Love child
Marry me
Money
My father’s career
Needing and wanting
Patience (Ndidi)
Sias’s wife
Spilled love
The fight for love
The song called laughter
To be a woman
What is adulthood?
Stage 2: The Unknown
As time runs out
Death dress
Done for
Eternal rest
Fade away
Finally free
Golden Years
Immortality
Life after life
Life to death
Looking back
On the pale horse
Release
Senses
Six feet under
Tell me about the darkness
The great beyond
The ground calls
The older, the wiser
Until my dying day
We all go to the same grave
When life is finished with you
Winter of Life
Wiser with death
With my last breath
Stage 1
Adulthood
A child is born
You grace us with your tiny presence
We learn to love you before we set eyes on your little face
You become such a big part of our lives, yet I have never held your hand
You bounce around inside your mother
Letting her know you are well and growing
We can only imagine what your eyes will look like or what sport you will one day play
For nine months you have kept us guessing
And within a couple of hours you decide that it is time
For the world to meet its brand new conqueror
The pain your mother feels to bring you into the world
Shows how much she loves this little baby heart
The first scream from this angel’s mouth
To show just how it feels to emerge from this cocoon
So, watching the look on your mother’s face
Is like watching the image of love itself
Your eyes open for just a moment to see
Your mother right there, smiling down at you
A new born baby that already knows
That her mother will love her until the last light leaves the earth
Will protect her with all her heart and soul
Teach her and bring happiness to her life
A new angel is born into this world
To bring destiny to its feet
A child and mother before my eyes
Forms a bond that the strongest of strong will never break
A child and mother before my eyes
I will cherish ‘till the last light leaves the earth.
A “thank you” to the man of the house
Man of the house, you are the provider of food onto our plates
We thank you for the food you put onto our plates.
Man of the house, you bring security to the home we built together
We thank you for the security you bring into the house we built together.
Man of the house, you are the peacemaker when life gets tough
We thank you for being the peacemaker when life gets tough.
Man of the house, you are the one to fix broken hearts
We thank you for being the one to fix broken hearts.
Man of the house, you bring love to the family we have
We thank you for being the one to bring love to the family we have.
Man of the house, you make right everything that might go wrong
We thank you for making everything right that might go wrong.
Man of the house, you show courage when the time is needed
We thank you for showing courage when the time is needed.
Man of the house, you keep us in your hands at night
We thank you for keeping us in your arms at night.
Man of the house, you will make a shelter for us in the darkest of times
We thank you for making a shelter for us in the darkest of times.
Man of the house, may you forever be blessed with everything that is good
We thank you for all the blessings you have brought into our home.
Between husband and wife
Beneath the covers I wait for you to slide your body
Bring your day to an end and be mine and only mine.
Your arms entwine around my figure and I feel safe
Together we lay in silence, listening to each other’s heart.
As we glide away into the land of sleep
You take my hand and lead me to the river bank.
You cup my cheeks in your hands so warm
And kiss me, a slow and blissful kiss.
In my ear you whisper promises of tomorrow
You call the wind and it sweeps us into the sky.
We ride the clouds and chase after the rays of the sun
Sweet summer scents brush against my face.
In your eyes I see love and happiness to be here with me
Forever we will be together here, you and me.
Slowly we descend down to earth again
Past the river bank and back the way we came.
In your arms I wake and you smile
You watched me as I sleep and you dreamt with me.
Dreamt that all will be alright
That one day we will be free and glide on the clouds.
Chase the sun and feel the summer
And the world is not such a bad place.
The sun peeks through the curtain and I know
Between husband and wife, our dream will always stay.
Communication
A baby was born into this world one night
With her mother screaming with pain - she had to fight
Beautiful with black hair she was born one night
Screeching when her eyes first met light.
With no sound for her ears to hear
Her mother shivered with fear
This angel born for the entire world to hear
She was held tight and very near.
Mother became concerned with her hearing no sound
Once the news came through, she bent to the ground
She asked for help and cried with no sound
A solution to the problem will soon be found.
Never did this mother think that talking will be this hard
With shapes and colours and cards
She taught her angel child and they worked hard
With her fingers she learnt to guard.
Talking became a thing of the past
As they both learnt to communicate with their fingers, fast
She sometimes sat and thought about the past
And smiled as she has found a solution at last.
&
nbsp; Although her daughter will never hear birds sing
For sure she will forever know one thing
The words of the songs she will for her daughter sing
Will be enough joy for them both to bring .
Decision making
Adulthood walks hand in hand with decision making
It may never be easy to make them, but they will form your destiny
When destiny asks, what will your college major be?
Take the time to think how it will impact the rest of your life.
Adulthood walks hand in hand with decision making
Think it through and think it hard
When destiny asks, what career will you choose?
Look down upon your heart and make it count.
Adulthood walks hand in hand with decision making
Ask advice from those who know the answer
When destiny asks, will you make a career change one day?
Make sure that the answer is one you can live with.
Adulthood walks hand in hand with decision making
Be careful of the boulders in the way of your success
When destiny asks, where will you live?
Do not fall for just any house; you must make it your home.
Adulthood walks hand in hand with decision making
For the house you get will be the house you own
When destiny ask you, will you buy or rent a house
The confines of your house will be your home.
Adulthood walks hand in hand with decision making
Wait for love to come knocking at your door
When destiny asks you, with whom will you go on a date with?
Make sure that this love is the love you want forever.
Adulthood walks hand in hand with decision making
The love you meet will be the love you crave
When destiny asks you, will this love be part of your journey?
Nurture it and let it grow, for love is the reason for life.
Divorce
We have once loved each other, made each other happy
Now all that is left is an empty space of what used to be.
There was once a time where I wanted you more than anything
But before long we grew apart only by mistake.
Our wedding day was the happiest day there could be
Your face when I walked down the aisle, promising you a lifetime of happiness.
Now the photos of the memories gather dust in the attic
Buried beneath new memories they are still there.
Waiting to be recovered one day when it is too late
For now all they are, is a reminder of all the pain.
There is nothing we can do about the rip between us now
Just make the best of it and hope to get a new and fresh start.
To work it out did not matter, for the love would not be a factor
How is it possible that love can fade away?
Crying and screaming will not help the situation
As all that could be said, has already been said.
All we can do now is hope for the best and go on with life
To break each other’s heart, we already did.
Your bags are packed and your heart is buried
We are strangers, knowing each other too well.
Upon the polished table top
Lays the papers saying we are going to divorce.
Do not fear failure
Once a mistake is made, it is not the end of the world
Take that mistake and dissect it
Learn from it and use it to do things better
Do not fear failure for failure is the best way to learn
As hope may turn to dismay over whatever may go wrong
Do not fret over it, learn from it
Make it your teacher to make you a better you
Do not fear failure for failure is the best way to learn
There is no person on this earth who does everything right
Do not make yourself believe that you are never wrong
Being wrong does not mean you do not know how
Do not fear failure for failure is the best way to learn
One day you will understand why failure is a good thing
For now, use it to your benefit
Try and try and try again, you will get it right
Do not fear failure for failure is the best way to learn
Rome was not built in a day and mistakes there were
But from it came a structure that still stands today
Being flawless is not an option; it is the way it is done
Do not fear failure for failure is the best way to learn
One day you will understand why failure is a good thing
Do not fear failure for failure is the best way to learn
Drugs and alcohol
I need the flavor it brings to my lips
It makes me happy and I sway my hips,
If I do not see it, I cannot breathe, I cannot think
I have to have it or I will fall over the brink,
It makes me forget who I am and for a moment I feel free
Free from all that keeps me down and maybe to a degree,
In a life of alcohol and drugs I find myself in
It is a choice I made and where do I begin?
Do not tell me what to do and do not try to stop me
I am happy for once in my life don’t you see?
The tears you shed over me, do not bother again
I do not want you to cause me any more pain,
In the streets I wonder in the middle of the night so dark
The sweet liquid has clearly left its mark,
In a life of alcohol and drugs I find myself in
It is a choice I made and where do I begin?
From afar I can see you look at me with dread
Where were you when I begged for a piece of bread?
You are the reason I am the person I am now
So do not dare curse and raise your brow!
If you took care of me and loved me the way you should
I would have been a better girl if I could,
In a life of alcohol and drugs I find myself in
It is a choice I made and where do I begin?
Fear
Fear walks around in my soul every day
Carving away at my flesh, exposing me to the world
Fear of life and hope and love is what brings me to tears
Those things I try to desperately cling to
Fear cups my heart and squeezes the life from my veins
Turning my world into a black hole of horror
Fear holds my hand when I feel the need to shake it off
To make sure that it stays my only companion
Fear has an alarm that goes off in my head
Wanting to ensure its presence wherever I go
Fear brings sorrow to each and every day
All I want is for it to say goodbye and go away
Fear brings dismay to my family as that is what I consist of
I breathe it, eat it, talk it and feel it every second
Fear raids me of all my passions and dreams I once had
And in its place a hellish world of wide eyed fright
Fear lurks in my bed at night, waiting beneath the sheets
Waiting to consume me with all its power
Fear is what takes me through this world and into the next
For fear is what made me pull the trigger…
I am your reassurance
Bring your fears to my bearing heart,
Tell me what your inner soul wants to know.
The seeds of wisdom are growing inside your mind,
Water them with the passion you gather from the world.
Guard against the evil roots that may grow along your wisdom,
Let the sun shine on your decisions and keep it there.
Bring your thoughts to me,
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I will let the wind blow you in the right direction.
May the rain wash away the hurt,
And leave you fresh to live life.
Make the best of every situation and learn from it,
Keep your heart clean of all evil that may pass.
Lay your troubles at my feet and let me take them,
Turn them into solutions for your adult mind.
Remember that money cannot buy happiness,
For happiness is what makes the world liveable.
Feel your way through the world and let me be your light,
Through the dark times I will carry you.
Make you feel safe and give you courage,
To wander the world created for you to live in.
I am the reassurance you so much want and need,
You will need me along your life path and I will be there, always.
I will keep you from harm and lead you to the right place.
I am the reassurance you so much want and need,
You will need me along your life path and I will be there, always.
Independence
Shaking free from the confines of being an adolescent
Becoming independent is what I will be now
Free from the prison bars of the home I grew up in
Free from all that held me down for all these years.
Out into the world I go, seeking what independent souls search for
Dance the night away, because I am independent is what I am
Free from the prison bars of the home I grew up in
Free from all that held me down for all these years.
When the sun rises onto the earth and you are brought down to reality
Independence means to fend for oneself; money makes the world go round
Free from the prison bars of the home I grew up in
Free from all that held me down for all these years.
Time wears on and independence sinks into the flesh
Makes me wonder if independence is for me
Free from the prison bars of the home I grew up in
Free from all that held me down for all these years.
Upon the doorstep I stand of the home I grew up in
To ring the doorbell as I am now independent and not part of this house any longer
Free from the prison bars of the home I grew up in
Free from all that held me down for all these years.
Inside I go, smelling the scents of the house I grew up in
I wonder; is independence worth giving up the home I grew up in?
Free from the prison bars of the home I grew up in
Free from all that held me down for all these years.
Jealousy
The little green monster as it is known sits right on your shoulder
You might want to ignore him but he is always there like a boulder
He whispers into your ear the feelings you want to suppress
You have to doubt the words anyone says, he might suggest
Confirm the fears you never want to believe
Wondering if the one you love will ever deceive
The little green monster as it is known sits right on your shoulder
Your voice echoes what he has said in a paper folder