Christmas Poem - Second Chance

Merry Christmas everyone - enjoy!

Second Chance

A young lady reading a heart-shaped book

In the dream I had last night

And a bearded man walking along the green grass

In the garden overlooking her garden

Tiny pellets of disappearing snow

Falling from the sky

Her face was locked in the book

Enraptured, in the story of love refined

But when her face lifted up

She saw the sneaking serpent

Who by now had come very close

Too close for comfort

Memories of hell resurfaced

The tension vibrated her frail skin

And made her turn pale and red

A glow as little as that of a Christmas lamp

Boiled alive from the storey adjacent

She captured that with the corner of one eye

But what would that do for her?

A preacher lives there she thought

And so is a teacher, in the ground floor flat

“But where were they when I ran riot” she thought

“Why I’m I alone?

Reading a lonely love book,

This beautiful Christmas evening?”

Her thought travelled to and fro in the few seconds she had

Reason prevailed and she settled

Easing off the memories of her painful past

Casting aside thoughts of her wasted teen -

The stigma of rebellious youthfulness,

Of a life that had lost its flavour

She planted a quick smile on her face

“How may I help you Santa?” she said

With a broad smile the bearded man replied,

“You’ve been a naughty girl,

But you’ve earned a second chance!”

Written by: Abolaji Lawal

Longing

Longing

For eon

Come and see the marks of the cross I bear

The yoke and the burdens of sin I carry

Let me show you the indelible marks on my heart

From the arrows life has shot at me -

The glare of wickedness, how it burrowed deep

The pain of loneliness, how it bites my soul

And how selfishness has left me cold; bereaved

Come, come and look within,

Come, search my heart agape

I am one wanting; empty

Longing for a new life,

I am one wanting a saviour, longing for the clarion call

So I may loose the skill of sinfulness

And be rendered unfit for the kingdom of hell

And my soul can sing of freedom, from deep within.

Abolaji Lawal 2010.

Independence ?

On 1st October 2009 Nigeria will celebrate 49 years of independence from British rule.

I am a Nigerian, though i live abroad, but i cannot shy away from the predicaments that the country finds herself. The people are impoverished and freedom from British colonisation has not translated into prosperity for the country.

This sadly, is the story of many 'independent' African countries.

One must therefore ask the question - what is wrong with Africa?

Why are many African countries poor despite the tremendous amount of natural resources in these countries? why are we so keen on killing each other?

These questions are endless, but one thing i know is that very soon, the masses will be pushed to the wall, and we will begin to ask the right questions.

Those days will come when politics will not be a business or an opportunity to satisfy personal gains.

Africa needs real leadership and real followership, we need to cultivate the right mindsets and right intentions to for our nations.

As we celebrate the independence of Nigeria - the self proclaimed giant of Africa - let real independence and revolution begin to reveal itself, let's make the streets safer, provide good basic amenities, make life in Africa more livable.

It will be well.

Stay Inspired and be a solution!

-Bolaji

Usain Bolt Sets New World Record

I have been thinking a lot lately about living a life of achievement.

Rick Warren already taught that every human being is created to live for a purpose, not just to watch others live out their own purposes.

I saw Usain Bolt, bolt away at nearly 40miles / hour to clinch the 100Metres world title, not only that, he set a new world record!

What are you waiting for?

Life may not be exactly a sprint, what is important is that there is always a tape to breast at the end of the run.

Paul in the bible said he ran the race of life as though he had achieved nothing; counting everything else of less importance to the new goal he had set ahead of himself.

What goals have you set for yourself? do you think they are unachievable?

Goals could be in career terms, social terms, business, family etc.

Well, I don't believe that there are unachievable goals in life, not any more. Not after the invention of the WWW, computers, bio-fuels and the latest advancements in mobile interface technologies!

What are you waiting for?

Usain Bolt has decided to raise the mark, forgetting that only yesterday he set a new WR of 9.58, he's reaching for 9.4!

Be Inspired!

**You can watch Usain race video here http://www.usainbolt.co.uk/usain-bolt-100m-video-world-record-9-58/

Modern Life

Hi there,

It has been sometime since i posted on this blog, I have been spending more time on developing materials for my poetry collection.

Soon i will be giving more details about this, but this morning i want to inspire you with two of my new poems. I hope you are refreshed and encouraged, blessed and stronger to face the new week.

Be Inspired!

Modern life

We live under each other’s watch,

sifting news of each others downfall,

our ears, glued to the neighbour’s wall

to pick the tiniest vibrations of their pain.

To conceal our own sorrows and worries,

we wear the best of jewellery and fabric,

the tingling of our itchy feet we contain

with bulging eyes, hailing to pop out.

We drive the best of luxury cars,

a new ride on the street, our heart jolts.

We live on credit to prove a fortune

that far eludes us, light miles away.

The name of the game is blame,

finding fault for all that’s wrong-

‘twas this, ‘twas that; never accepting

the recompense our folly, enrolled.

In love, we deceive ourselves

with passionate kisses in public places,

yet, every morning we re-enact,

the wrestlemania of previous night.

Hopping from one bed to the other,

we live a bit of ourselves behind,

never worrying about the repercussions

till the woes of our secrets escape the open door.

© Abolaji Lawal, 2009

Angus

To humans in peril, life is worthless,

To a dog in a home, life’s worth living, many times over.

He’s always chasing shadows, barking hard at them,

If I could I would, I tried to stop him, many a time.

But he never stops. He hops and jumps; on two legs he stands,

raised, to catch the shadow of the souring eagle.

Together, we run for the ball, the club to my caddie,

a race in the sun. I reach for the ball just before he grapples for its shadow.

Our early morning walks, an adventure-

I lead the way in the woods, he settles into my shade, formed by the early sun.

The neighbour’s scooter casts for him, a bewildering image.

Every zoom of the scooter at lunch, he barks, restless.

He chases for a mile, for two, beyond the foot bridge.

I guess he’ll never stop, until some day the impossible happens -

Till Angus catches a shadow and traps it in his claws,

he will lay a chase, across the green parks of Beggerwood;

until I learn from my four legged friend, that nothing is impossible,

Until I choose never to give up; pick up my wedge and chip the ball again.

© Abolaji Lawal, 2009

The New Economic Disorder

...by Larry Bates

This is an amazing book and i strongly recommend it.

It paints a picture of investment and banking from a whole new perspective.

The new edition features great insight into

~ Personal debt

~Mortgage Crisis

~Investments and Liquidity

~predictions and forcasts the economic future of nations

Be Inspired!