Walking on this green grass lane,
I have to say life wasn’t always like this,
And diverting to the rocky path,
I can say life was more like this.
When I was a child,
I wanted to remain a child,
I didn’t want to grow up.
But I did grow up
And I was glad I didn’t remain a child.
I grew up to become a man
And saw a clearer picture of life.
I don’t know if someone has seen the clearest picture.
Growing old,
Things to be grew old too,
And the ‘used tos’ became continually frequent.
Now, not a day has passed by that
I don’t use the phrase ‘used to’.
In the evening, I take this walk
To ask God why after so many things,
After what life is,
We look up and die?
I tell God He has really cursed man.
Oh, coming to think of it,
It was a lovely journey.
All journeys must have a destination.
Life suffers the fate of every journey.
Truthfully, I do have to rest some bones.
It was fun while using them all.
Adaudo Anyiam-Osigwe from her book of poems – Words from Beyond When Crying for Myself: Musings from Childhood.