I want to live now,
But keep dreaming of a life in some future.
I am out in some dream
Anytime I say or do something,
That the essence of what I say or do is lost to me,
And it is not cherished.
Then, when I look back to capture that moment,
I do not have it because it was never there.
Judy Garland was a tragic figure,
But those who met her say
She was the funniest woman they ever met.
Even in her lifetime, she knew she was tragic and funny.
Tragic to the public; funny in private.
Perhaps, that is what you have to be
To be great.
As for me, people look and say:
‘Oh, you are so serious.’
Then I talk to my friends and they say:
‘Ah! You don’t know how funny you are!’
This cake was swarmed with ants;
And had been there for a long time.
A woman took it, dusted off the ants and ate half.
I took the other half wanting to do the same.
I dusted it off; took half a bite,
And couldn’t go on.
I threw it away.
I can’t do it because I have never done it and I’m not used to it.
I really don’t know what to
Do with this jig-saw puzzle of
What I really am and what I dream to be.
I should just leave it the way it is.
Or maybe change it a little bit.
What should I do?
Adaudo Anyiam-Osigwe . From her book of poems – A Little Understanding: Poems from the End of Childhood to the Beginning of Adulthood