THESE TEARS I WEEP! (a lamentation for Nigeria by Linus Okechukwu)

Read Time:1 Minute, 15 Second

I.
These tears I weep…

I weep not for myself,
But for what my eyes have seen,
And what my ears in awe heard –
So great that I cannot but weep.
But lost in sorrow, I must speak.

II.
These tears I weep…

I weep not for myself,
But for our kith and kin slain –
Whose hopes lay in the ground,
Radiant smiles no more to be seen,
Ambitions, forever unfulfilled!

III.
These tears I weep…

I weep not for myself,
But for his penchant for felony –
The Executioner’s hands drips with blood
As he moves with bloated ego.
He forgets the transience of life!

IV.
These tears I weep…

I weep not for myself,
But for the looming dangers
And the devianta besieging us –
Their weapons I fear,
Poisonous like snake venom.

V.
These tears I weep…

I weep not for myself
But for my dear country
Cascading on a free fall –
Its beauty lost
And its strides wobbly.

VI.
These tears I weep…

I weep not for myself,
But for the lost hope.
That hope that in idealism abounds.
Still, I remain optimistic –
Sinking in the rivers of hope.

VII.
Since our blood his food be;
Since our lifeless bodies he wants,
Since our worship centers he seeks;
And his tears are as rare as his heart is hard;
Let our mouths in supplication remain
And unto God our sorrows submit.

meet the poet: Linus Okechukwu