"I've heard too many weird stories
About the yonder cities
Furnished in the empty insecurity of civilization
Peopled with men begging to be reunited to their origin
Men tossed in the wind of frustrations
Always on the move
Straying farther away from the source of their identity
The essence of the African soul
Never knowing the bliss that comes with the dawn
Or the satisfaction that comes with the dusk
Forgetting the melodies the flying birds carry in their talons
Full of many opportunities
A bribe to the injustices of history

But since you are a dreamer
I hope you find greener grounds on the other side
I hope it rains are in your favour
And its shines lead you
Only to the carven of fulfillment

Be watchful my friend
In that strange land
Let pride lead you into the future
And may the spirit of your fathers guild you into the unknown"

The lorry and its noise came to halt
Alas you must hurry in

We will be together in your dreams
You will hear my whispers in your heart
I will never leave the realm of your thoughts

I know too well
That the tears that now flood with ease
Down the alley of your face are mine
For we do not know how to endure
The thousands of kilometers that now perch between us

I shiver with you as you climbed into the lorry
Pushing your ways to the back roll
I still remember so clearly
How your gaze was fixed on me
But not just on me
But the home you also left behind

This was who I saw in you then?
A poor little child
A traveller into the unknown
With hopes as the bracelet with which you created the future

As you waved back from the back seat
I wonder if that is the final goodbye you will say
If this road that leads you
Into the hinterlands of a distant world
From the world you once hold so dear
From the people you once cherished
Will one day bring you back
To those who you once loved so much

What awaits on the other side?

I hope the pastures are green
I hope the rivers are clean
As it is fancied to be
I hope little Amanda will be accepted
In the land her sail is now bound?

One thing did not fade as lorry vanished
The innocence on your harmless weeping face
That will keep asking me the same question
I left on answered for a long time in my mind
Though it now only a shadowy image
I still look back on the long road
With tears and nostalgia
Praying you come back home someday

I sat again on that grass
For my legs was glued to the spot
Unwilling to carry me back home
It was you that made it home to me
The laughter on our happy faces
The innocence we shared
The glad evenings vanished by your presence

I can't help but ask
Has the course of time had done this injustice?
By taking you away from me
The only friend and sister I have?

© Olatuja Oloyede