Life Companion in Sayings

Read like a
     writer. 
Write like a 
     reader. 

Money is not
     the problem.
It's its color--the
     color of cash--
that is.

He said he's
     gay.
A former word 
     for happy.
That it's now
     illegal socially
     to lambaste 
     male on male.
Seriously?
Happy now?

It's called
     power, right.
So it belongs to the
powerful.

We're all
     NaN, after all.
Except we prefer to
go to war.

The young woman
     didn't know what to think
     where to go with the car.
All the time
     it was how she'd look in it,
how she'd be seen,
be taken.

Capture the moment,
     miss the story.

Yes, sex is
     necessary.
But who
     you have it
     with?
Absolutely.

The sugar in
     cucumber will do
     today. 
It, too, is
     sweet as the ants
w'd say. 

Nigeria couldn't
     divide.
The people couldn't--
     they couldn't tell
one from other.

How long does it
     take a tree to grow?
I'm in Lagos, I
do not know. 

Advertising 
     places your brand 
     in front of eyes-- 
millions of them. 

Marketing 
     places your brand 
     in minds, still--
millions of them.

It's not music
     anymore.
It's religion--
     their gods
     their stars.
They know
that. They.

Successful partnerships
     do not run the same schedules;
they sync different ones. 

Freedom
     can be a yoke. 
No, it won't 
     pull no load,
it'll crush you. 

If that dick ain't
     disciplined
     the man ain't 
made.

Fear
     is only a warning,
     not to sink, but
to think. 

Is it also glutinous 
     to want to cover 110 books
 a year but 1?

Lucky to be un-
employable.

My best decision
     ever was quit school,
My worst, return.

I think the word "debt"
     came from
"debilitating."

The longest trip
     a man will take will be
     within, his soul. 

It'll be the most
     rewarding, too, should 
     it be his life's troll. 

Only the living
     die. 

You can hear a poem
     with the eyes open. 
And read one, too. 

But to listen to a poem,
     you must close your eyes. 
See every syllable. 

Self-control is a muscle,
     but it isn't formed 
     by daily push-ups. 
Ok, daily push-ups on
     the good habits.

If you looked at my teeth
     you'd agree I stopped smoking. 
I didn't. 

No, not that I didn't
     but that I never did. 
No, I didn't. 

How sweet temporary
     pleasure causes such
permanent damage!

Don't we all accept
     we're all imperfect?
But, how come,
     how come we are?

The quicker you grow
     the much closer to death
     you go, so
grow slow.

They will call you a poet
     when they want.
That is up to them,
     not you.

Having nothing to hide
     is not having
everything to show.

When they wore
     only very thin clothing,
     they told you,
"Look, these sex organs
     are on, not in, the body."

Only celebrity deaths
     are announced.
Now what is a
     celebrity death?

Minimalism isn't
     absence of color, 
but making sense of it.

You see, they flogged
     the one kid for not closing
     the eyes
when they prayed.

But didn't wonder
     what the other kid thought
     with eyes shut
when they prayed.

To be repelled by
     people is to be 
     attractive to a few.
A few true people.

The computer "brain"
     is inherently stupid,
almost insane!

Not all awander
     are lost.
Not all astray
amiss.

When you sleep,
     you take nothing with you; 
     yet awake refreshed,
everyday.

Don't ask 'why;' 
     you know 'why,'
     you do.

Reinventing the wheel
     might fetch you a heart attack.
Riding the wrong wheel?
     man, that's certain death!

Ginger raw is
     making garlic
     more palatable.
Mightn't God have
made them so?

It's easy to prophesy,
     right?
I can look at you through
     a crystal ball and say,
"will happen."

What I'm not sure
     about?
How to make that
     happen that I said "will,"
prophecy.

God creates woman,
     man commodifies her.
Woman like an apple brand,
     so most of 'em prefer.

And they'll treat them
     as living, breathing,
active billboards, not
entertaining athletes.

An idea is only as unique
     as your unawareness of it.
Then it's old again.

Bitter is sweeter
     and better
than sweet.

Writing is my only
     excuse for desiring to
know it all.

The bearer of the womb 
     that brought me here
     and the sharers of the same womb
     will never know anything about me,
     except through research.
They can research my
     Evernote.

Every woman
     costs money.

Whether you spend cash
     on her or not.

Whether she spends cash
     on you or not.

Every woman
     costs money.

Any struggle for 
     world dominance anywhere     
     is a declaration of war
on America.

Don't hire
     better employees.
Hire better
     managers, leaders.

Some of us dance
     better sitting
down.

Writing is not
     a talent,
     a wanting to 
help others.

Just want to
     do, to
help.

"Why am I dying
     when I've worked so hard
to live?"

He cannot know
     he asked that question,
no!

The look on his face,
     when he had one, though,
said so.

To be authentic is,
     not to reveal all,
     to hide none
of all to reveal.

It'll be too late
     for earth to transition
     to mars when mars is ready.
When Mars is ready!

Mindfulness is
     listening to a soberstry
     without scratching a single itch,
might take a whole hour.

To accept a point of view
     is to grasp a story.
One comes before
     the other.

To grasp a story is not
     to approve its account.
One decides on
     the latter.

It is unsafe
     to know you have
unlimited
space.

Listening is
     an art.
It's deliberate,
     naive.

Somewhere a
"thank you"
is headed
always.

Christianity didn't 
     spread to Europe.
It was snatched by Europeans
     slavery got a new tool,
perfect one.

Africa used to be
     Europe's business.
They had their c-suites.

Now Africa is
     Africans' business.
They have their c-suites.

Knowledge
     nothing most people
     will do for you
     should not prevent
doing a lot for
most people.

God made man
     upright
     that she may take
     only a limited space
on their earth.

Not answers
     change the game.
Questions.
Game?

Not the length
     of the story
     that makes it true,
that tells it.

But the story itself
     makes it true,
     tells it--
brief.

Don't reinvent 
     the wheel,
it takes too long!

And it's a hurt that
     won't heal
no matter the song.

There's this stress
     much of the world
     isn't aware of.
It's (made in) Nigeria.

Tea had to be
     seductive
     so humans would be
     seduced for good.
For life.

Facebook is not
     free!
It was you Zuckerberg
     chose to sell
     to be billionaire.

Everyone has time
     to say, "good morning."
Only a few, though,
     to ask, "howdy?"

Your teacher is
     not one that teaches you
     to do.

Your teacher is
     the thinking you do
     while doing.

Your teacher is
     giving to you to do that
     which you must do.

"If you think
     the same things you think 
     when taking your medicine,
     when taking tea, you'll be well.

Great thing is, you're well
     by just being natural,
     by just taking tea,
     an awesome story to tell."

When was classical music
     ever African?

An over-entertained mother
     cannot educate her children,
or interact with them.
She can only have them
     entertained, really,
over-entertained.

Privacy is a threat to
     freedom
     as much as freedom
is to privacy.

Humans were
     not born to be employed,
     but to be deployed
by each other.

With your eyes closed
     you can see whatever you desire;
     perhaps, have it too.
We're out of the womb now
     and must keep our eyes
open. Unfortunate?

There's no
     stupid questions,
just stupid people.
And they never ask
     stupid questions,
being stupid people.

Since 
every woman
is perfect
--form & function--
we pick one 
we're cool 
w/.

The Amazon is
     mighty.
With every river
     it competes.
But remains
one river.

The suspecting mind
     cannot risk 
being detected.

The hidden mind
     doesn't want to
give itself away.

Comfort can
     not understand pain,
needless to explain.

Panic button
     is red, not to mimic
     the color of blood,
     but the state of blood.
Always.

You don't leave LinkedIn
     after you get a job.
Because if you want to
     get a job you always 
want to get a job.

Don't exercise
     to live longer.
Exercise to enjoy
living longer.

Tea holds its froth
     longer than beer.
It's strength, too,
     not to intoxicate,     
to detoxicate.

No one's ever sure
     of the sun coming 
morrow.

They say they are
     because they believe, 
not that they know.

When everybody is
     the industry leader,
the industry isn't led.
When no one leads
     the industry,
the industry's fully led.

If you didn't 
     pick where you can call 
     home yourself,
     you have lived someone else's life
     all this time.
And died 
     doing so, too bad!

The old man, bent double, suddenly collapsed and fell upon his walking stick.

"Dead," proclaimed passersby.

When the neighbors picked up what remained of him and buried it, we frowned to each other, "whew, how we'll miss his fondest words, 'you can talk yourself out of hospital bed always.'"

Don't think 
     about your business.
Think about
     your customers.
Your customers
     will think about
your business.

Your enemies
     help boost
     your ranking
on Google.

You cannot
     heal the world,
     or kill it.
Damn, you can 
     kill your self,
though.

To live
     is to sacrifice.
To die
     to pay the ultimate price of 
     the falsest birth
on planet earth.

God gave me
     tea
for drinking
     hot-water 
made me puke.

Tea had to
     look like urine,
(and act like?)

It's the incretion
     of the excretion
that we may live.

You can be an expert
     at anything.
Just commit to
     making another an
expert at anything.

Nature wanna
     sleep,
     man
awake.

Then the latter
     cries
     when the former
retires, dies.

Brain don't wanna
     be bothered with stuff.
Won't chew you for
     stupid, stupid!

Not the word,
     "smile," but "cheese"
     ends in a smile.
Say "cheese."

I can't change
     the world.
I won't change
     the world.
O, I got a small
corner.
That!

To be heard
     over the chaos of me-me-me noise,
     you don't get a loud-hailer.
Perhaps, a louder hailer.
You keep quiet.

Fun + 
     action =
     function

Never read
     for fun.
Read 
     for action.

If you read
     for fun
     find
function

The miracle
     I yearned scared me
     each time I thought
I got it.

With life companion 
     I lived, or
     didn't, I
couldn't know. 

The choice of wine
     over tea
     is man's fault,
     not God's.
Not wine's, not tea's.

Start from
     service.
End with
     product.

Egypt, the Wilderness,
     Promised Land.

There's three reasons you
     go to a doctor.

1. You're afraid.

2. You can explain.

3. You're taken there.

None these three were
     available to me.

If Whitney Houston
     had the dream I had 
     yesterday night,
     Earth would have one more hit
     to enjoy.

Don't think of the reward;
     think of the award,
but do nothing for neither.

If you want to
     change the world
don't have your world.
But the Devil wants you
     to rule your world,
not change the world.

If you hurry
     you'll miss her.
Chill and 
     you'll kiss her.

The problem
     with the West is
     Sun only sets
there.

Have myriad
     people to learn from,
     fewer to teach.
Perhaps, one:
you. You.

If suicide
     is crime...
Where's the
criminal?

Talent is
     skills you forget
     you learned. 
They stick.

If dying were
     as physical as death,
     death would come
slower. 

Woman, ah,
     you should've been selling
     bananas! 
Who's going to buy
     your Coke! 

It's never too late
     to die. 

Any locality can claim
     to be "the cradle of civilization."
Because civilization is
     whatever anybody says it is. 

A movie theater
     is where we go after work
     for enjoyment.

And some of you say,
     "no, that's home!"
     "I got home theater, after all."

Sure, you can go home
     and watch the evening news
     and spend time with family.

But where you go 
     to enjoy is the cinema,
     and you can go home afterward.

A movie theater
     is where you go after work
     for enjoyment. 

Histories are
     best chewed in bits,
     and swallowed long,
forever.

Even in your own
     sales brochure,
     you got to be careful
     how you advertise. 
Or else you'll be lost. 

Saving space,
     dying for lack of 
     fresh air. 

Horizon
     is an illusion. 

Death
     is my official retirement. 

If you're the dumbest
     person in the room,
     you're in the right room. 
Come out smarter,
     undumbed. 

It can be a fight. 
I might as well
     start it now. 

Authority
     to be stupid
is conveyed. 

Disconnected people
     in a connected world. 

It's still easier
     to resist
     at the beginning
     than at the...
End.

Nigerians
     bought generators--
     and used them--
     as if they were competing
     with NEPA.
Sorry, PHCN.

No book
     is worth your rushing
through.

Nor should you
     ten to live
well.

The song
     deliberately
     done blank,
     left blank, will
stay blank.

But has a filling 
     for the mind.
A place on
the playlist.

Good tea
     takes time
to brew. 

Insight
     is money. 

This mango
     tree--filled with fruits.
Ripe mangoes.

If I climb
     this tree, I'll come back.
With some fruits.

It's how
     I love it--to climb
and come back. 

There is a tree--
     maybe a mango,
maybe not, I don't know. 

It's over there,
     filled with fruits,
ripe mangoes, figs.

We needed not to know
     the color of Abacha's eyes
     to detest him.
It was likely yellow.

Good food
     takes time, effort. 
So does
good child. 

Reality.
Virtual reality.
Augmented Reality.
Real reality?
Imagined reality.

I am convinced
     that neither religion
nor politics causes war. 
But the religion of
     politics as well as the
politics of religion does. 

Wherever you are
     be there. 
Present. 
Useful. 

It's sweet!
It's tasty!
Remove the salt.
See.

Fight
     hurts two;
victory one.
Okay,
     defeat,
too.

A slap
     makes two pain,
not one. 

Their moms hated
     that they had to go to farm. 
They can't let their kids
     do that, no way!

The sun they caught,
     these kids won't. 
No, they're indoors watching
     breakfast television. 

Carrots are
     not seasonal. 
So they're called
     not mango. 

The children
     ran away from their father.
They dodged him.
He flogged them
     yesterday.

Only a small part of
     man changes. 
They're too sooner dead 
than known to have. 

Earth, earth,...
There's one more call
     you must answer
     then be no more. 
I will be told. 

Collect your own
     poems. 
The abundance of water
     does not make drinkards,
     no one drinks passed
     their demands
of thirst.

I am African.
I live in my skin.

I am African.
We cover up.

I am African.
I keep my hair.

Wish 
     I could just sleep right now
     and see myself in London.
Yes,
     you can.
Just go sleep.

The shepherd 
     doesn't lead the sheep
     from the front,
from behind. 
No, the shepherd
     doesn't drive the sheep,
     leads them,
from behind.

The wicked thrive
     that you may love God
     for what you have,
     not what you don't.
Not what they have.

Our rooms
     will have no stomach
     for food
     were we to eat 7 servings
     of fruits and veggies a day.
But, what is food?

You're judged 
     by what they thought
     they heard, not by
what you said. 

Don't be like the rats—
     always hiding, even
     in their own
hideout. 

Boredom
     is innovative. 
It's what you dream
then, whenever. 

We know what
     happens to the dead
     no more than they know
     what happened to them,
     or is happening to us.
How could we?

The little death
     that helps us live
     everyday,
     that is what you stole.
And kept.
O.

Save Egypt
     and feed her.
Just don't 
     remain
on her.

Everybody has one day
     in a year, and
     it's not their birthday. 

That day's so crucial
     we're not aware 
     it came that day. 

Well, we weren't aware
     of our birthday either. 
O, someone told us. 

Happens too
     in their world.
Sometimes they just don't
     want it!

It belongs to Nigeria
     to misunderstand "Nigerians."
Ever.
Because the latter 
     never became.
Never.

They will be
     called
     former Nigerians.
Not "fellow Nigerians."

In those days
     the men thought about 
     the marriage.
The women 
the wedding.

How can you think
     when you're not writing?
How can you write
not thinking?

Sleep had me jealous
     of my wife.

You slow down
     not the world,
     ....
Faster is the way
it ends that has life.

You need
     to look left, look right,
     before you cross.
But you must cross,
     or look left, look right
and never do.

"We have worked
     so hard to make 
     your eyes look good."
Or kill them for good.

It'll make sense
     for Biafra to rise
     again.
Again, as
confederate.

Don't read
     history.
Think.

Not a creation
     unworthy of attention.
Deny that, remain
in darkness.

The greatest resurrection
     will be, not one of history,
but from history.

From a
     position of dependence
     does silence speak.
But makes no noise.

A lifetime of
     broken scripts
     is the full story somewhere.
You must find
     and fit all
the pieces.

You're not
     proceeding respectfully
     when you start saying,
"with all due respect."

Who deserves the drink
     when I'm 100?
Who got it 
     when I was zero?
That was my birthday.

Maybe
     another people found God
     and brought him by,
undead.

The military built
     bridges.
Civilians
traffic rings. 

When the time
     comes,
everybody yields.

People should be
     proud to be
     ambassadors,
     not 
paid to be.

Whenever it's called
     an ad,
it's an ad.

A/C is
     Artificial Cooling
and not good.

Life was
     a struggle,
     but I lived it.
As long as I did.

A woman's
     not to be won,
     wowed.
Wow her.

Garlic has no smell
     until she is
bruised.

Which God
     would die
twice?

I've seen Jesus—
     don't know
about God

I can do
     anything.
As long as
I love to do it.
Should I?

Hope
     is its own
chemistry.

If the mirror
     would've shown me
     what was killing me,
     I'd not die
when I did, perhaps.
It didn't—I did.

In those days,
     the okra guy grew them
because he loved to.

One guy dies
     for the good 
of country.
Who she is,
     no one knows
till she does.

Our audience is spouse—
     one for every house.

If businesses come 
     to social media like you—
     to share, not to sell, 
they'll sell more.
Social media—
     community. 
Not marketplace.

And in those days,
     the parents
     boasted about their kids.
They said, "she can't
     do the dishes."
"No he can't. 
He can't sweep
the floor..."

Employees
     used to be called slaves.
They had their masters,
     and to "employ" is to "use."
They have their bosses.

People who are
     small,
     achievements 
overinflates them.
So, they
     overinflate 
     their small 
achievements. 

I know adults
     can say "his idea's sexy,"
     but kids shouldn't.
But can they hear
     it's sexy?

You can't fear 
     a thing when in 
     your own backyard.
Except what 
     you want to fear.
Which is hardly near.

Be careful
     of the spotlight.
Far too many
     have been
     blinded
beyond recovery.

Like a child
     nothing's wrong
     with alcohol.
And like a child
     everything's wrong
     with abuse.

Nothing is wrong
with sugar.
Everything is wrong
with how sugar
is treated.

We dug God
     and found
answers.

No story
     no glory.
Sorry.

I gave sleep
     a second try.

Thank God
     for the back porch,
the sleepless star.

Man is
     dust, after all.
Little surprise
     their problem—
dust. Dust.

There's a
     generation
     that won't sing
     unless they let you know
     they are singing.

Tea is
     not a meal.
There isn't
     tea time.

God made man.
Men made gods.

God lost men.
Men lost gods.

Don't give
     them your card.
Take theirs.

Money not earned
     can't be set aside.

You're not quoted
     until you are
quoted. Noted.

When my brother died,
     there was one
     person that wouldn't cry.

Not that he was happy,
     or cruel, (loving the calm?)
     but he didn't have to.

No, he didn't have to.

There is someone  
     we each need to have—
     a sink of bad moods.

We're all sinks
     of bad moods,
     but choose our sources.

We're all sources
     of bad moods,
     but choose our sinks.

Find your sink—be a sink.

Living to be 100,
     I've postponed midlife crisis
     to 50.
If I'm not old enough
     to take what comes then as
     crisis.

To live
     is to be
     indebted.
To die
     free.

Because
     garlic smells,
     Gatorade sells!
So happy cells,
     the cancer swells.

My beef
     with sickness
     is not the pain it brings.
It's the boredom it rings
     me in.

Man came
     and so agreed
     that absolute control
     isn't theirs.
To come is man.

There
     is
     yet
     one
     good thing
     that is wished away when it has to
     come.

Those
     who 
     orgasm
     wish 
     it
     wouldn't come so easy...
And yet it
     has to
     come.

A "family"
     that does not 
     communicate
     is not one.
A collection
of blood.

There's no
     business.
Or sales.
Or marketing.

There's only
     my buddy
     Pete.
And all he desires. 

You can't hope
     she loves you.
Or wish he did.
But you can
     find
who does.

It's called,
     "oatmeal",
not porridge.

Fortunately,
     if we had to make it
     sweet,
     we had to add
     sugar.
Add sugar.

Don't ask whether
they wear makeup.
Ask "how much makeup
do you wear?"

Thank God for
     Egypt,
     the Wilderness,
the Promised Land.

To break a rule
     is to know it.

Wildfires
     don't last.
Sure, they can burn 
     a large area
quickly.

Don't
     look for a job.
Look for jobs.

Friendships ex-
     pire.

There's no
     good or bad idea.
There's only
     problems worth solving,
solutions worth trying.

If
     you learn to box
     you'll want to
box.

You get
     the need
you desire.

There's only one
     difference between
need and desire.
Same as 2 and 1.
One has to
come first.

No matter 
     how much sauce
     you mix with white rice
     it can never be
     jollof.
Or like it.
Nor does anyone
     bleach jollof.

The desire
     was taken away,
     not to live
     forever,
to sustain it.

They will
     calculate
     the speed of the earth.
But refuse to accept
     someone is driving 
the car.

My best decision
     ever was
quit school.
My worst
     return.

Anger is strength
     fight brains.

We can't 
     do it
     except
     we can show
someone else
we can.

No
     bangers
     aren't made in Nigeria.
They're only 
     blown 
     here.

People don't buy
     the name of a car.
They buy the shape
of the car.

Do we drink water
     because we need water
     or because we
thirst? Thirst.

Man
     wants to feel
     in control.
But craves
     control.

We
     were formed
     to never
form.

The difficulty
     with truth
     is not in
understanding it.
The difficulty
     with truth
     is choosing to
understand it.

The mushroom
     always wants to grow.
So all it does is
     grow.

What happens
     in my bedroom
     stays in my
bedroom. Period.

None of us
     knows Adam.
Nor have to;
     nor will.
Nor can we 
     anyone from Adam.
Nor do we
     have to.

Electricity
     couldn't choose
directions.
It chose two.

Distance
     is what smoothes 
     edges,
makes them round.

It doesn't
     take a class
     to learn anything.
But it does
     take one
     to make learning     
     easier.

It's
     ginger
     that delivers
     garlic.

It is
scary.
Because scary is
for the
living.

Man
     cannot manage
the self.

Tune
     your voice
     for effect.
Not to hide
     a defect.
Or turn it
off.

We place things
     exactly where
our attention is.

We
     actively
     seek
     at least one person
     to adore.
All of us.

Technology
     always
     keeps its promises.
Therefore, 
     it
     is taken seriously.

Let my head
     not be
     bigger than
     my skull. 

Music used to be
     an art form,
     a beautiful fiction.
And God saw that it was good.
God let man have it.
Then men took it
     and made it business,
     a lucrative fashion.
And God saw that it was good?
God let men have it.

Devil
     is using your brother
     to tempt you.
Your best friend.
You can't
     believe it.
You won't. Why?
It's why
they're winning.

When you take a step 
     for someone, 
     let your footfalls 
not be heard.

If you have
     built your audience
     sell to them.
Don't sell them.

Imbalance
     of needs
     is enemy 
     of cohabitation.
Friendship.
Love.

He chose 
     the best chapter
     and gave me
as free taste.

I'm wanting 
     the rest.
The best.

If he thought
     I'd gotten the best
     and wouldn't want the rest,
     let him know
     I'm wanting the rest
because I got the best.

You gave me the best, now
give me the rest of the best.

Every step you take  
     toward someone 
is noise. 
Every step you take 
     for someone 
music.

Be a woman,
     not a pair of breasts.
Not a high hip,
not a shrunken torso,
     big behind,
long legs...
man.

When you're about to
     die,
     if you live
     long enough to know,
     you become a dark object
     floating in light.
The dark object
     is in front of you
     a little longer.

Your sins are
     forgiven 
     when you die.
Even
     it
     that killed you.

You do not know
     what
     they're saying about you.
I would not either.
But like they're saying is
     how I liked to die,
in strength.

Snails are slow
     to those who see them
at day.

Afford-
     able.

Become in Egypt.
Just don't
     remain
there.

The villain
     wants to be
taken seriously.

God gives man talent;
     Devil gets the credit.
How can she possibly
     come from the Devil
     with all that voice,
     all that rhythm?
It's what the Devil
     wants.

But she hasn't seen 
     the Devil.
Nor God himself.
So?
It's neither God
     nor the Devil.
It's just man,
     and it's just what the Devil
     wants.
Thank God.

We don't dis-
     cover any thing.
We uncover a lot.
We will a lot more,
     not getting rid of the cover,
     but revealing
what's hid-
     den.

Because a girl
     dreams of a man
     to cook breakfast for,
     a boy dreams of a woman 
     to cook him breakfast.
But breakfast
     is no man's job.

Every being
     living
     knows they'll be praised
     when they
     die.
That is,
     somebody will!

There's only
     one
Enter key.

Strangers.
Aren't we lucky
     to have
them?

Thank God for
     strangers.

Our mothers
     picked patience
     cooking pulses,
the kitchen.
They found
     the miracle of
     the wood stove,
the eyes eating.

Creation is
     easy.
Re-creation
     im-
possible.

He endured
    prison
     because he couldn't
     kill
     himself.
Because no one would.
No, not because he 
     hoped
     to live again.
He lived again.

We're the products of
     our own conclusions. 
It's why we live,
     how we die. 

When all humanity
     becomes government,
     no more human
rights
left. 

The peacock is a fan of 
     shimmering iridescence 
     to court. 
Display on purpose,
     not show-off.

Keeping bees
     is humble,
for peasantry.
But honey
     is delicacy
for the king.

God did
     not
     create
     a child.
A family.

Shakespeare
     did not 
     write.
Because people
     do not
     read.

"Draw breath."
Too deliberate
     a description of
     what we do without thought.
But there's some
     right this moment
     doing exactly that—
     drawing breath.
Gasping,
     then are no 
     more.
Give thanks.

Is
     what's wrong 
     with using
your head.

The sweetness
     of a poem
     comes,
     not from reading,
     but hearing,
     listening to its reading,
     reading to someone.
Someone hearing,
     listening.

I used to
     get
     this poem 
     before.
I don't
     seem to
     anymore.
I'll just start
     again.

God did 
     not create
     a fan.
A friend.

God did 
     not 
     create
     individual.
Community.
There had to be
     Eve.

It's not people
     that have
     that help.
It's people 
     that want to.

Were you not
     trained to
     ask a different question?
Well, now 
     you've been told to.
Always ask
     "why."

Was that Adam
     or God?
They just called it
     water.
But for man to willingly
     drink poison
     he must
call it soft.

Aborigine
they're called
     if spared,
     if missed. 
Left behind. 
Earth had
to be filled. 

Hardly any
     souls left to amuse
     if it's all 
the writer to do.
Is it?

God democracy
     placed self
    center universe.
But a society
     is not of self,
members.

Everything now
     up in smokes
     the altar of time,
left will be one
Or two—
     love and labor.
Labor, love
the human race.

Put a little
     meaning in the music,
     to be hid in.
When it sits,
     meaning
come.

When the brain
     will not sleep,
     eyes take the blame.
They make up
for with bags.

Pay attention
to differences.
Not similarities.
That you may love
     that you too
are different.

When not even
     your bladder is
     in the way
     nine to five each every night,
     you have unlocked
     happiness.
Congratulations.
Sleep 
     the only happiness
left.

When the fable
     ends,
     you start
     thinking.
When the novel ends,
     you stop.

The family
     is neither a democracy
     nor a totalitarianism.
It's just family.

When the strength
    of the bureaucracy
is the strength
     of the organization,
     the latter never falls.
Never seems to fall.
But where does
the former go?

Democracy
     is sustained by
     efficient bureaucracies.
Communism
the righteous 
evil.

A beast
     cannot
     kill
itself. No,
does not.
Wait, aren't
they all
beast?

Easy
     used to
     do it.
Then hard
     took over.
Easy, ...

Don't  fear evil.
Don't do it either.
The more you fear it
     the worse it'll be.
The less you care
     the less it'll see.

As long as
     the brain sleeps,
     nightmares
     will never
make sense.

If you create
     a persona
     you become
     split-person. 
Person is
     what we ought 
to be. 

Communism—
     despots,
totalitarians,
plutocrats. 
Democracy—
     politicians,
capitalists,
bureaucrats. 

To cry
     where heard
     is worth
     a thousand
tears. 

When you
     are gone,
     all's done.
Not because you
     are no more
     but because you
     don't know
you are. 

Language
     does give us
     privacy.
A divided eternity. 

Interest
is a fire
that lights up the brain
and melts away its pain.
It comes from reading
the right stuff.

A novel
     is not defined by length. 
But by richness. 
Complexity--
     of themes, of symbols,
characters. 

Religion
     is the politician's
     nose ring.
But the truth
     remains
     the quiet
of the calm.

A politician
     doesn't see 
     people, institutions.
A master juggler,
     sees objects
     they must keep
     in the air,
     in front of them,
     as they wish.
Always.

Impulse
     is what we 
     had
     before
     our minds can tell
     needs from wants.
But continue to
     have
     after
     minds can tell
     needs from wants.
And dwell on 
     wants

Conscience
     is free.
Always been.
Social conscience
     for sale—
luxury.

We cannot
     craft
     a life
     other than the one
     we've been given.
We can only
     live
     one.

What 
     further need
     do we have for comedians?
Except to put up
     with being put down?
To celebrate up
     from down?

If
     purpose
     is not
     your why
     publicity will
     come rushing in.
It's up 
     to you.

Discovery
     can show you
     in the most vivid details
     the colors of the clouds
     over Hiroshima.
But cannot
     clearly
     tell you why or what
     happened in Asano Park.
Read history
     before you
     watch it.
Dig it.

You cannot blend
     into a crowd,
     no matter how large,
     even if invited.
Don't go to
     a crowd
you have not chosen.

You cannot
     choose
     how to fight.
How to win.
You can only
     choose
     to win.
Then fight
     the battle you find
in your way to win.

These days
     we're getting paid
     to teach.
A profession.
But teaching
     should
     spring
     from a desire
     to help.
Ultimately.

When power
     is the religion,
     the weak is
     left
     without
     right,
     left,
center.

The amount of
     makeup on you
     is making you more
     a commodity
     than humanity.
You say,
     "Eyes are
meant for seeing."
Good. Good.
You will be seen.

Doing "good"
     around the kids
     isn't hypocritical.
It's practical—
     you're helping them.
Far more helpful
     to kids, though
     is to "catch" you
     at the "bad",
sometimes.

A poet
     is not a
     composer
of poems,
a maker of
     society,
She's ensuring she's
     absorbed
     sweet,
memorable.

Politics
     is a skill
     as much as
     hypocrisy
is a skill.
You need
     only
     master
     the latter
     to be as adept
at the former.

She's very
     spontaneous.
That's an approval.
But be careful
     of your impulses—
     they love your friends
more than you.

Politics
     mistook
     democracy—the exalted,
the disaster
donned, damn.

You can
     win
     the war with
plutonium.
But lose
     the battle
     on every front
     without
patience.

You cannot
     flatter a child.
If at all,
     not for long.
With flattery,
     children are
     much the wiser.
Watch, the flattered
ones aren't children.

Because
     she
     lived
     as a career
     they made her death
     her generalissimo.

It's government
     that breeds
     cynicism.
By making mockery
     of justice.

Democracy
     will never
     bring
     justice.
The majority
     that carries the vote
     is the minority
     with money,
all the money.

Be careful
     of professors
     of religion.
Because
     that's all
     they know.

Be careful of
     people with money.
Better to remain poor—
     God forbid!—
     than to be an instrument
     in the hands of the rich.
God forbid!

Be
     careful
     what you wish for...
     ... "philanthropists."
If they go on
     you remain poor.

You did not
     start
     investing
     in your mother's womb.
But you survived
     unscathed
     those crucial months
     that made you
somebody.

Get used to
     waiting.
Not as ascetic.
For times when
     you need it.
Your life depends
     on it. No?

We have a
     phrase
     for it.
We call it
     "personal branding."
We have
     left
     the person
     for the persona.
The woman
     for the image.

You cannot
     train a child
     whose "living" parents
     are too "busy" to.
Or engage it.
Except
     it lets you.
By some miracle.

For the sake
     of humanity
     God has made her
     quicker,
     stronger,
     better
     at impulse control
     than him.
Humanity
     is in the woman.

When the "father"
     brands himself
     breadwinner,
     he's despising semen,
disowning the family.

Always
     the arms
     embracing
     the child needing
     attention
     its parents do not give
     complete is rebellion.
Always.

A "bad" child
     running from a
     "bad" parent
     never finds a
     better parent.
Never.

When
     there's
     nothing
     you can do,
     there's yet one last thing
     you can.
Do.
Let it go.

Every
     one is
     born greedy,
     jealous.
For good reasons...

Who isn't now
     comes face to face
     with it every time.
Recognizes
     others.

Who is
     always
     denies they are
     while secretly savoring
the kick they get.

The color of
     family
     is air.

Everyone should have
     equal dependence,
     equal independence.

Neither in the way
     of differences
     nor needs
     is this.

But smack
     in the way of indifference.
Make every attempt to
     treat each child
     as an individual.
Everyone a pro.

TV.
The Internet.
Facebook.
Keep the radio.
You need
your family.

The eye's
     capture
     of sight     
     is an upturned pyramid.
But those thinking
     about their readers
     know,
     when it comes to texts,
     the eyes can only 
     hold
     enough within a handbreadth.

The nipples
     of a woman's breasts
     are a symbol of
     contact.

Of love.
Of humanity.
Most Fitting.

From fetus
     to finish line
we never stop sucking.

No
     Adam 
     is apart from
     Eve.
Yet never forget
     who got questioned.
Whose punishment
     became humankind's.

No child
     can have two mothers.
Or two fathers.
As none
     needs two, three, four,
     or five parents.
A child
     needs 
     only 
     one 
     parent.
Or none.

Fantasies
     are made
     in the mind.
Well, that's where
     they "live"
     or die.
Live, die.

Freedom
     is not
     a kingdom of
lawlessness.
It's the dom of
     people freed from
lawlessness.

When it's the man's,
     it's "the thing."
The woman's
     "down there."

If it's a...
     penis is penis.
Vagina vagina.
Tell your children
     what is what
whenever they ask.

It is easier
     to deal with her
     that is different from you
     than her
     that is indifferent to you.
Find the former.

Why,
     say
     we suck.
All our lives.
Beautiful thing!

A contented mother
     is a happy
generation.
An engaged child
     the joy of a
generation.

Until
     she can hold
     to her mouth herself
     that cheesecake bit...
A cup of warm chocolate...
Asserting herself.
Keep
     bringing her
     your breasts or the bottle.
Your touch.
Your time.
Your talk.
Tales.
Be there.

You can tell
     a parent
     from a child...
100% of the time.

Death
     harms
     none
     but the living.
Not the dead.

It's lots of fullstops
     that make
     a story
     crisp.
Punchy.
Sweet.
Use tons of fullstops;
     few commas,
     no colons.

Some
     became
     Canadians.
Some
     Americans.
Some
     Africans.

Were there
     no natives?
Yes,
     they're all
     dead now.

You
     can't
     afford
     to look back.
You're not Lot's wife.
Lot.
Yes, Sodom was
     a mistake.
And now you've picked
     Zoar.
But it could be a city
     of refuge.

My
     woman's
     body—
     O, what a delight
     just to look at it.
In the room.
On the road
     it's exploitation.

A
     subtle mind
     remains
     uncluttered—
     laden
     with fiction.

O, you tore
     the money...
     mistakenly?
And you want to
     throw it away?
Give me.
I like it
     torn. 

"Take your apple
     away. Don't want it."

Or

"If my two lower
     premolars didn't become
     so sensitive afterward
     why would I turn down
     another apple?"

Sometimes
     a volumity of words
     wins.

No, we're not
     turning Satan down—
     that's already settled.
But we must
     always
     decline
     graciously.

Base instincts,
     the fashion industry,
     Tumblr?
Or they
     themselves?

We used to
     eat outside.
Not because we welcomed
     all to join.
But we would not
     turn them away
     if they wished to.

Everyone
     said, "join us"...
     A thousand dwellers—
     every dweller must
     pass by
     every dweller's dwelling
     at least once a day—
     yet it might've been
     jollof, four forks—
     mama, papa, nana, dada...
It was a country thing.

It's
     their nectar
     that draws
     the bees
     to them.
It 
     brings them.
It
     makes them
     come

But no flower
     ever
     knows
     when
     a bee will come.
Nor who gets whom
     in a swarm of these.

Still they got
     nectar.
And flower
     must
     go on to flower.
And what can man do
     without honey?

To be
     low-key
     is one.

To be
     off-key
     another.

But the perfect pitch
     isn't mere music's
     business.
It's the pulse of life.

What they needed
     was not another president.
But a good manager,
     a resourceful one.

If you take
     life seriously
     you'll relate with death
impossibly.
This life.

We can
     only
     belong
     in a family...
provided.

Preoccupation
     is enemy
     of sleep.
The bed
     is not for
     one.

The media
     has
     the limelight.
But you
     a head,
     hubris.
Or both.

There's
     nothing
     you can do
     about
     water
     that is gone.
But to look at it.
As far as you can see it.

There's a time
     to cry.
Never.
Except
     where affirmed,
     loved.
Cry there.

Worrying
     does not
     increase the problem.
Isn't that great?
But our problems—
     their enormity
     in our head.
Greater.

It's your voice,
     yes.
But does it sound
     like
     your favorite author?
You've just shared their
     real estate
     of fans...
     free.

In the field
     fetching firewood
     it was, "ba aga gne top."
But in the field of life,
     it isn't by strength
     but by strategy.
More by guile
     than by guts.

The frogs
     can't keep
     quiet.
Hasn't God given them
     a tongue,
     a throat,
     a swamp?
Plus ten solid hours
     of darkness!

die
doesn't
     mean
     you should make a living.
Live
or else

The people
     wanted
     the image,
     not the person.
Not the heart.
So, God gave them
     Facebook.

"We thought he was fasting."
"Or in one of his moods."

When they
     finally
     opened his room door on the
     third day.

Dead.
They found him.

They'd rather
     research
     and assume
     they know what or how
     he was doing.

They never
     as simple as asked,
     "How're you doing?"
Just, "how're you doing?"

Dead.
They found him.

Only science
     claims
     smile is for you.
And proves
     a thousand ways
     it's free medicine.

Smile
     was created,
     not for you smiling,
     but for me needing you to smile.
For me.

Fable,
     parable, poem, proverb.
The tale.
Short story?
The novel came
     and fiction changed,
     became.

Every
     story
     can use
     a bit of
     salt and pepper.
Because taste
     is never out of season.

"The family"
     is a military camp
     where you simply obey.
Like it or not.

I know how
you'll answer...
Is it "on your foot?"
Or "under...?"

On or
under,
depends where
we stand.

It's not
     what I'm inclined
     to tell.
What I feel like.
It is
     what might
     help
     you
     about me,
     in case you know.
This I can tell.

If you let
     that chili hit
     your trachea so hard it made you start,
     fine.
Swallowing ice
     did not help.
Sipping straight
     water managed a little.
The pepper burned its course.
God wanted your
     emotions.

That your head
     may not be full
     of it.
When it comes to
     rights,
     see them as inherent.
Like talent,
     not things you worked for.

A disciplined penis
     is a disciplined man.

Sleep.
8 hours is the sweet spot.
I'd kill for 10.
12.
I need only half
     a day to be
     aware of what I must
     be aware of.
I want to spend the other half
     dreaming.

Not
     before
     you have
     known
them.

You cannot
     draw
     attention
     to a room
     you have not cleaned.
Cannot clean.

Money
     (as well as lack
     of money)
     is a root
     of evil.

It's not
     who you are
     that makes you
     extraordinary.
It's
     what you do.
Nor can you ever say
     you are.

A father decides
     which name to
     keep.
To front.
It's up to life
     to honor it.
Or not.

I suddenly
     realized
     why
     we each have a
     stomach.
To feed ourselves.

All that
     fame and money
     for something she didn't work for?
"Cuz I got talent."
It's what she said.

Each person's teeth
     decide their own
     cause of sensitivity.
You can't force
     that apple
on the child.

Love is
     easier.
Like better.
Pick them that can say,
"Look, I like you."

It's not
rotten ginger.
It's medicine.

Except
     for about half of
     humanity
     who did neither and can do neither,
     there's really
     only two divisions of people.
Those who read.
Those who don't.

A
     serpent
     doesn't bite to give you wound.
Or because it likes you bleeding.
A serpent
     knows the quality 
     of (sorry, potency of) its
     poison.
To kill.
Instantly.

He thought
in the end
she'd say, "I fed you."
Words flew around.
How compatible—those two.

She thought
in the end
he'd brag, "I fed you."
Words flew around.
They never married—those two.

God has created
the earth and gone
who knows where.
Gone whoever cares.
But Jesus,
known to have walked
this earth must be there,
somewhere.

God
put fear
in us
for only one purpose—
to know what
courage is.
And willpower.

Every burial
offers an opportunity
for... Don't let
another
choose one
for you.

Sometimes
the moon doesn't
have to shine.
But the sun—
it has no
choice.

The mouth
is the only sense organ
created
closed.

It's not the salt
in the yam
that makes it
agreeable to the palate.
It's the salt
on the tongue
that does.
Salt the oil,
not the yam.

If your name
were
Person
how much of it would you
be?
I used to know one.

Happily,
the mirror
isn't
as clear as stream.
Nor as deep.

If
we would live
again
we would come back
much stronger.
Better persons
than when we had
submitted to
death.
If we would live
again.

Complacency
is luxury.
No wonder
there's the unending queue after it.
But the few
embracing
change
have a paradise of everlasting comfort.

When death
speaks,
life
has its orders.
Yet,
it's not
the end
of birthdays.

If
you're mature
enough
you know there's things
you don't take to market.
A lot.

Like how you
fuck
your husband.

Everyone learns
to
fuck
in their rooms.
No one needs taught
how.
Period.

Whenever the guy
needs tuna,
he'll come to the marketplace.
You need not bother him.

OK, you may
occasionally seek
ways to let him know you, too, sell tuna.
But don't let that bother him.

Whenever he needs
tuna,
he'll come to the marketplace.

Now when he does
come,
whether he enters your shop or not,
can't be decided by you.
Maybe chance. Maybe God.

But when he comes again
for tuna—
heck what can he do without tuna—
whether he buys from you or not,
can be decided by you.
Not chance. Not God.

We can't
afford
to be
friends.

Yes, keep 'em
thinking you're a
professional.
But be a
professional.

Japan had to be
conquered by America
for peace sake.
Soon we'll all be
conquered by America,
that is, every nation.
But we'll not all become
Americans.
We'll all be
gone.

If you knew
they always bring a why
to every text written,
would you give an answer only?
Why another waste
of a precious flow of
ink?

No book should be read.
Reading's not a time-fill,
No way to idle.
Bring a why, your why -
dig in.

Anything wrong
with a name?
Nothing.
Except its
bearer.
Hearer.

When they were
tamable, she
used rubber bullets.
The kids.
They're grownups now.
She needs AK-47's.

All she needed
was the good tongue—
engagement.
She gave that all away to
Facebook.
What the f... damn!

If love were
all that mattered
it'll be the only word.
We need more.

There's no time
to speedread.
If it deserves your time
give it your time.
Listen to it
slowly.

Being in hiding
is not the same as
being concealed.
You can be sure you're hiding.
But you're only as
concealed as you're
not noticed.
Know how your enemy sees.
And see what they know.

A silent enemy
is more dangerous than
a noisy one.
Learn to hear
silence.

Each trade is
its own school.
Military military.
Business business.
Unique to each one
is each one's needs.

"Camouflage
is continuous."
The slightest shift
is the difference between
life and death.
So is trust.

Your path
must be as the Sun's.
Slow—
24 hours, right?
Never stopping.
For all the clouds in her path.
Till East meets West.
When?

So untroubled
are the dead.
I looked my father in the face—
that was my father—was
And I realized
how much deadness
can benefit living man.
Living man.

You can still
sing her her favorite
Streisand.
Even if she
won't hear most of it,
or know you did.
You know she knew
you sang her a song—
her favorite—before...
You know she knew.