Poem

Onerous

My life is getting harder

First my other mother

She decided to change her life and live for the better

Then, her husband got shot and saw life’s latter

I’m no longer shy; I am going through an ordeal

So, my brother’s brother got a headshot

My brother’s close friend crashed, he saw the light before a child he could begot

My friend’s baby mother was COVID killed

Luckily my other friend’s father was only COVID ill

But another friend crashed, yet another gone up that unchartered hill

Death is drawing near

I think it senses my fear

I’m trying to be cautious

But it’s impossible given these onerous

I feel obligated to being cantankerous

Failing as the prominent writer

A failed washed-up cricketer

A decent footballer

I’ve become nothing but a regular day goer

It started with a contempt job at a call center

But still, I hear, you have the talent

That’s a lie that’s appropriately placed in a lament

So, I guess I’m going through a lot

And in this life, life isn’t something to take back

My words uttered are either forgotten or just plain

So, when my niece asks if I’m okay, I’ll ask her the same

God knows it’s better when she doesn’t understand this pain

It’s a defence that’s about to cave

Does it make sense to share?

My friends would say yea

And let me know they are here

But if frustration in your job was a sin

Then cast me, as I am all the way in

In this excrement hole,

I will need to find a connection to the higher being

Not like that unreliable telephone

- Makonnen Solomon