Grateful

Abdulmueed Balogun Adewale

after Rasaq Malik Gbolahan

for promises kept at gun point. for vows strangled over a bar of chocolate. for friends who make the world a better place despite the endless war against tenderness. for my nephews' strong bones and my brothers' unwavering love & support. for my niece's good health and my beloved's sky-bound growth. for secretes spilled as jokes by friends before a thousand eyes in exchange for thundering claps, for that short lesson on trust and loyalty.  for the indelible scars left by those that once meant the world, for that short revelation on the paradox of life. for love lost, for lost love, for found love, for love found. for enemies that were moderate in their hatred, for that solemn sermon on the need to always give room for love, even in the midst of mayhem, however little. for life in spite of the grievous fangs gyrating atop my skull. for nights that come with beds and not hard grounds. for clean clothes that preserve one's dignity. for hope in spite of the bleakness of tomorrow. for ears functioning well. for eyes equipped with the magic of beholding the beauty of ordinary things. for hearts immune to hatred and revenge, despite the seeming need for it in this world of endless chaos. for my father's firm words on slippery days. for my mother's prayers and sacrifices, when she could have packed and never look back. for the gift of poetry, for words woven into blankets on cold nights, for pains-lacerating metaphors, for life-giving similes. for the sacredness of our love, in spite of the spies in the house of love. for those like you, who in spite of their woes, never cease trying to make the world a better place.